Characterizing seabed sediments using multi-spectral backscatter data in the North Sea

Acoustic classification using single-beam and multi-beam echosounders has been widely applied in characterizing seabed sediments. Although previous studies have shown a better discrimination of fine and coarse sediments using multi-spectral echosounder data, analysis regarding comprehensive seabed sediment properties is still needed. In this...

Mapping biotic and abiotic seafloor habitat characteristics with multi-spectral multi-beam backscatter data

Detailed knowledge of both the sedimentological and ecological characteristics of the seafloor is essential when undertaking bottom-disturbing activities, but can be a challenge to obtain. Through backscatter data at different frequencies, collected with a multi-spectral multi-beam sonar, information on the structure of both the sediment...

Mapping the seabed and shallow subsurface with multi-frequency multibeam echosounders

Multi-frequency multibeam backscatter (BS) has indicated, in particular for fine sediments, the potential for increasing the discrimination between different seabed environments. Fine sediments are expected to have a varying signal penetration within the frequency range of modern multibeam echosounders (MBESs). Therefore, it is unknown to...

Monitoring underwater nourishments using multibeam bathymetric and backscatter time series

Natural and man-induced coastal erosion endanger life and environment in coastal areas worldwide. For sedimentary barrier coasts, beach and underwater nourishments are an efficient coastal protection strategy. To optimize nourishments and to understand their impact on the marine environment, monitoring strategies are required. In this study,...

Seafloor characterization using multibeam echosounder backscatter data: Methodology and results in the north sea

Seafloor characterization using multibeam echosounder (MBES) backscatter data is an active field of research. The observed backscatter curve (OBC) is used in an inversion algorithm with available physics-based models to determine the seafloor geoacoustic parameters. A complication is that the OBC cannot directly be coupled to the modeled...

Seafloor classification in a sand wave environment on the Dutch continental shelf using multibeam echosounder backscatter data

High resolution maps of sandy seafloors are valuable to understand seafloor dynamics, plan engineering projects, and create detailed benthic habitat maps. This paper presents multibeam echosounder backscatter classification results of the Brown Bank area of the North Sea. We apply the Bayesian classification method in a megaripple and sand...

Performance of Multibeam Echosounder Backscatter-Based Classification for Monitoring Sediment Distributions Using Multitemporal Large-Scale Ocean Data Sets

Obtaining an overview of the spatial and temporal distribution of seabed sediments is of high interest for multiple research disciplines. Multibeam echosounders allow for the mapping of seabed sediments with high area coverage. In this paper, the repeatability of acoustic classification derived from multibeam echosounder backscatter is addressed...

An inter-comparison of sediment classification methods based on multi-beam echo-sounder backscatter and sediment natural radioactivity data

This contribution presents sediment classification results derived from different sources of data collected at the Dordtse Kil river, the Netherlands. The first source is a multi-beam echo-sounder (MBES). The second source is measurements taken with a gamma-ray scintillation detector, i.e., the Multi-Element Detection System for Underwater...

Improving riverbed sediment classification using backscatter and depth residual features of multi-beam echo-sounder systems

Riverbed and seafloor sediment classification using acoustic remote sensing techniques is of high interest due to their high coverage capabilities at limited cost. This contribution presents the results of riverbed sediment classification using multi-beam echo-sounder data based on an empirical method. Two data sets are considered, both taken at...

Predicting Spatial Variability of Sediment Properties From Hydrographic Data for Geoacoustic Inversion

Riverbed sediment classification using multi-beam echo-sounder backscatter data

A method has recently been developed that employs multi-beam echo-sounder backscatter data to both obtain the number of sediment classes and discriminate between them by applying the Bayes decision rule to multiple hypotheses [ Simons and Snellen, Appl. Acoust. 70, 1258–1268 (2009) ]. In deep water, the number of scatter pixels within the beam...

Using MBES backscatter strength measurements for assessing a shallow water soft sediment environment

Shallow water naval operations require detailed knowledge of the environmental characteristics. In this context, the BP’07 experiment was carried out in the Mediterranean Sea, south-east of Elba Island, in 2007. Measurements that were taken during this experiment employ a large set of sensors, thereby providing all information required to fully...