Advance, challenge, and suggestion in geophysical technology for underwater archaeology survey

Underwater archaeology involves different stages of investigation, and the survey scope, underwater environment, and survey objective vary greatly. Therefore, corresponding survey techniques and strategies are also different. We analyzed conventional method and cutting-edge geophysical vehicle techniques of underwater archaeology, including acoustics (multi-beam echosounder, side-scan sonar, sub-bottom profiler, and single-channel/mini multi-channel seismic), electromagnetic, electric, LiDAR, and underwater operated vehicles (HOV/ROV/AUV) etc. At present, many challenges remain in underwater archaeology in terms of image recognition of seabed relics, detection of buried small-scale artificial relics, detection and excavation of cave leftovers, detection of intertidal remnants, and the exploration of deep-sea archaeology and excavation. It is our device to strengthen cooperation in marine industry, upgrade and improve existing survey technology, and establish a mechanism for hardware sharing to increase the probability of archaeological site discovery, avoid damage and loss of the sites, and reduce economic costs.