Geostatistical and multivariate modelling for large scale quantitative mapping of seafloor sediments using sparse datasets, a case study from the Cleaverbank area (the Netherlands)

Quantitative mapping of seafloor sediment properties (eg. grain size) requires the input of comprehensive Multi-Beam Echo Sounder (MBES) datasets along with adequate ground truth for establishing a functional relation between them. MBES surveys in extensive shallow shelf areas can be a rather challenging and time-consuming task, resulting in...

Model-based sediment classification using single-beam echosounder signals

Acoustic remote sensing techniques for mapping sediment properties are of interest due to their low costs and high coverage. Model-based approaches directly couple the acoustic signals to sediment properties. Despite the limited coverage of the single-beam echosounder (SBES), it is widely used. Having available model-based SBES classification...

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

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...

A model-based method for reducing the sound speed induced errors in multi-beam echo-sounder bathymetric measurements

We present a method for accurately estimating the bathymetry from multi-beam echo-sounder (MBES) travel-time measurements in environments with large variations in the water column sound speeds (both temporally and spatially). In this type of environments the water column sound speeds at the time of the MBES transmission are often not known,...

Inverting for bottom parameters in shallow-water soft sediment environments using MBES backscatter strength

Shallow water naval operations require detailed knowledge of the environmental properties. In addition to parameters such as water depth, knowledge about the sediment properties is of high importance for a wide range of operations. In this context, the MREA BP'07 experiment was carried out in the Mediterranean Sea in 2007. Measurements employed...

An efficient method for reducing the sound speed induced errors in multibeam echosounder bathymetric measurements

Nowadays extensive use is made of multibeam echosounders (MBES) for mapping the bathymetry of sea- and river-floors. The MBES is capable of covering large areas in limited time by emitting an acoustic pulse along a wide swathe perpendicular to the sailing direction. The angle and the corresponding two-way travel-time of the received signals are...

The potential of inverting geo-technical and geo-acoustic sediment parameters from single-beam echo sounder returns

Seafloor characterization is important in many fields including hydrography, marine geology, coastal engineering and habitat mapping. The advantage of non-invasive acoustic methods for sediment characterization over conventional bottom grabbing is the nearly continuous versus sparse sensing and the enormous reduction in survey time and costs....

High-frequency multibeam echosounder classification for rapid environmental assessment