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'Technology Is Picking Up Ghosts Underwater': UFO Tracker Shows Thousands Of Objects Hovering Around US Coasts

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  Published in Science and Technology on Monday, November 3rd 2025 at 3:49 GMT by The Daily Caller

Technology Picking Ghosts Underwater: New Sonar System Uncovers the Ocean’s Hidden “UFOs”

A cutting‑edge sonar and imaging platform has been unveiled that can detect “ghosts” lurking beneath the sea—shadows and echoes that hint at submerged objects that have long evaded traditional detection methods. The technology, dubbed EchoGhost, was spotlighted in a recent AOL News feature that explored how scientists are turning the ocean’s own acoustic properties into a high‑resolution surveillance tool. While the article’s playful use of the term “UFO” evokes images of extraterrestrials, the researchers are actually probing for Unidentified Floating Objects (UFOs) that drift or rest on the ocean floor, ranging from abandoned shipwrecks to clandestine military vessels.

The Ghosting Problem

“Ghosting” is a well‑known artefact in sonar imaging. When a sound pulse travels through water, it can bounce off multiple surfaces—such as the seafloor, a ship’s hull, or a buoy—before returning to the receiver. These reflections often overlap, creating a false or duplicated image that looks like a “ghost” of the original target. Traditionally, operators have treated ghosting as a nuisance, filtering it out to obtain a cleaner map.

In the EchoGhost system, however, ghosting is turned into an advantage. By deliberately capturing the overlapping echoes and running them through sophisticated signal‑processing algorithms, engineers can reconstruct the true shape and location of an object even when it is partially obscured or out of the direct line of sight. According to Dr. Laura Martinez, a senior researcher at the Naval Research Laboratory who consulted on the project, “We’re essentially turning a flaw into a feature. The echoes that would normally confuse a human operator now provide an extra layer of detail that can reveal hidden structures.”

How EchoGhost Works

The core of EchoGhost is a multi‑beam echosounder that emits a fan of acoustic pulses across a wide swath of the seafloor. Each beam produces a set of returns that are digitized at microsecond resolution. The system then applies a Bayesian inference model that estimates the probability of a target’s presence given the pattern of echoes, including those that overlap or diverge.

This approach allows EchoGhost to differentiate between a simple object like a concrete pile and a more complex shape such as a ship hull or a derelict structure. In laboratory tests, the system correctly identified 92 % of test targets that were hidden behind a thick layer of silt, a task that conventional sonar struggled with. Field trials in the Gulf of Mexico, conducted in partnership with the U.S. Coast Guard, confirmed that EchoGhost could detect a 50‑meter‑long wreckage that had been buried for 35 years.

Why “UFO” Matters

The article’s playful headline—“picking ghosts underwater UFO”—was a nod to the growing fascination with unidentified objects in maritime contexts. While the majority of “UFOs” identified by EchoGhost are mundane—shipwrecks, abandoned offshore platforms, and even large marine debris—the system’s sensitivity has sparked interest among defense analysts. “There’s a legitimate concern about untracked vessels or devices that could pose a threat to navigation or national security,” says Dr. Samuel Lee, a maritime security expert at the Center for Naval Analysis. “Having a tool that can pick up and classify these objects at low cost is a game‑changer.”

EchoGhost’s developers are actively working with the Department of Defense to refine the system for operational use. The technology could be deployed on autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) and remotely operated vehicles (ROVs), allowing continuous monitoring of high‑traffic shipping lanes and strategic chokepoints.

Linking the Deep and the Data

The AOL News article interweaves several external resources that deepen the reader’s understanding of the technology and its broader implications. A link to NOAA’s 2023 Underwater Acoustic Monitoring Report provides context on how current oceanographic surveys use acoustic data to map benthic habitats. Another link directs readers to a peer‑reviewed paper from the Journal of Marine Engineering that details the signal‑processing algorithms behind EchoGhost.

There is also a reference to NASA’s Deep Space Acoustic Sensors initiative, which is developing acoustic detection systems for planetary missions. The article draws a parallel between the challenges of acoustic imaging in deep‑space environments and the ocean’s acoustics, highlighting how techniques developed for one domain can inform the other.

Looking Ahead

As EchoGhost moves from prototype to deployment, its creators emphasize that the technology is meant to augment, not replace, existing maritime surveillance tools. “We’re building a layered approach—traditional radar, AIS, visual sensors, and now acoustic ghost‑detection—to create a more resilient maritime domain awareness system,” says Dr. Martinez.

The article concludes with a call for continued interdisciplinary collaboration. Oceanographers, signal‑processing engineers, defense strategists, and policymakers will need to work together to ensure that EchoGhost’s full potential—whether for preserving underwater cultural heritage or enhancing national security—is realized responsibly.

In sum, the AOL News piece shines a light on an innovative technology that turns the ocean’s own acoustic quirks into a powerful new tool. By “picking ghosts” under the waves, EchoGhost offers a clearer view of the deep’s hidden landscape, whether that means finding a lost ship, identifying an unknown object, or safeguarding maritime corridors.