Scientists at Los Alamos National Laboratory have found a way to detect underwater mines over vast expanses of ocean by employing a camera system developed to image nuclear tests in the 1960s.
A pulsed laser mounted with a charge-coupled device in an airplane rapidly images large areas using reflected laser light. Within seconds, these images are transmitted to a ship where trained personnel analyze the images for possible minefields. The CCD camera has a capability of 1000 frames per second; the goal is 4000 fps.