Evaluation of Laser Scanning and Stereo Photography Roughness Measurement Systems Using a Realistic Model Seabed Surface

The topography of the seabed is influenced by sediment transport due to wave motion, current disturbance, and biological activities. The bottom roughness generated by these processes can substantially alter acoustic wave penetration into and scattering from the bottom, and therefore, it is essential to make accurate measurements of the bottom roughness for such acoustic applications. Methods to make direct measurements of bottom roughness include stereo photography, laser line scanning, and sediment conductivity. Roughness can also be measured indirectly using high-frequency sound backscatter. For optically-based methods, the accuracy of these measurements is typically evaluated using the elevations, lengths, or diameters of simple surface features of known dimensions. However, for acoustic applications, the statistical characteristics of the surface, e.g., the roughness spectrum, are more meaningful. In this paper, we present a fabricated rough surface milled into a 40 $,times ,$60 cm $^{2}$ plastic block for use as a benchmark in the assessment of two in situ roughness measurement systems: a laser scanning system and a digital stereo photography system. The surface has a realistic roughness power spectrum that is derived from the bottom roughness measured during the 1999 Sediment Acoustics Experiment (SAX99) and was fabricated by a computer numerical controlled milling machine. By comparing the fabricated surface spectrum to the measured spectrum, a determination of the accuracy of the roughness measurement is evaluated, which is of direct relevance to acoustic applications.      

Characterization of interface roughness of rippled sand off Fort Walton Beach, Florida

As part of the environmental characterization to model acoustic bottom scattering during the high-frequency sediment acoustics experiment (SAX99), fine-scale sediment roughness of a medium sand was successfully measured within a 600 /spl times/ 600-m area by two methods: stereo photography and a technique using a conductivity system. Areal coverage of the two methods, representing approximately 0.16 m/sup 2/ of the sea floor, was comparable, resulting in the depiction and quantification of half-meter wavelength sand ripples. Photogrammetric results were restricted to profiles digitized at 1-mm intervals; sediment conductivity results generated gridded micro-bathymetric measurements with 1- to 2-cm node spacing. Roughness power spectra give similar results in the low-spatial-frequency domains where the spectra estimated from both approaches overlap. However, spectra derived from higher resolution photogrammetric results appear to exhibit a multiple-power-law fit. Roughness measurements also indicate that spectrum changes as a function of time. Application of statistical confidence bounds on the power spectra indicates that roughness measurements separated by only 1-2 m may be spatially nonstationary.     

Fine-scale volume heterogeneity measurements in sand

As part of the effort to characterize the acoustic environment during the high frequency sediment acoustics experiment (SAX99), fine-scale variability of sediment density was measured by an in situ technique and by core analysis. The in situ measurement was accomplished by a newly developed instrument that measures sediment conductivity. The conductivity measurements were conducted on a three-dimensional (3-D) grid, hence providing a set of data suited for assessing sediment spatial variability. A 3-D sediment porosity matrix is obtained from the conductivity data through an empirical relationship (Archie's Law). From the porosity matrix, sediment bulk density is estimated from known average grain density. A number of cores were taken at the SAX99 site, and density variations were measured using laboratory techniques. The power spectra were estimated from both techniques and were found to be appropriately fit by a power-law. The exponents of the horizontal one-dimensional (1-D) power-law spectra have a depth-dependence and range from 1.72 to 2.41. The vertical 1-D spectra have the same form, but with an exponent of 2.2. It was found that most of the density variability is within the top 5 mm of the sediment, which suggests that sediment volume variability will not have major impact on acoustic scattering when the sound frequency is below 100 kHz. At higher frequencies, however, sediment volume variability is likely to play an important role in sound scattering.     

Time-evolution of high-resolution topographic measurements of the sea floor using a 3-D laser line scan mapping system

A laser line scan system was used to characterize the high-resolution spatial variability and temporal evolution of the sea floor as a function of environmental conditions for a small section of the sea floor in the Gulf of Mexico during a period of nine days. High-resolution bathymetric profiles (<1 mm) covering about two sand ripple periods on the sea floor were acquired over a one-dimensional transect 1.35 m in length. The system was also used to measure reflectance and to produce three-dimensional bottom maps of the test area. Over the nine-day period, the sand ripple peak-to-trough height was observed to decrease slowly from about 2.5 cm to about 2.0 cm. Similar gradual changes we also observed in the time-evolution of bottom profile correlations and of the bottom roughness spectra. However, when smaller sections were examined individually, the time-evolution of the profile correlation was observed to vary acutely and in a transitory manner in some regions but not in others, and without preference for crests or troughs. In general, bottom roughness for spatial frequencies greater than 0.044 cycles/cm completely decorrelated within 20-30 h. However, this gradual trend was also marked by acute and transitory changes in bottom topography believed to be primarily from fish feeding on epibenthic prey.     

The calibration of a laser light line scan method for determining local interface roughness of the ocean floor

An accurate model of acoustic interaction with sandy sediments is crucial to the application of SONAR in shallow-water environments. Because acoustic scattering from interface roughness plays a major role in the reverberation from and penetration into sandy sediments, it is imperative to be able to accurately measure the roughness of the sediment/water interface. An interface roughness measurement system has been developed in which a laser light sheet is projected onto the ocean floor. A resulting image can then be analyzed to determine the interface roughness. The system has been shown to achieve a height measurement error of less than 0.9 mm over a spatial frequency range of 15 to 60 cycles/m with about 0.5 mm standard deviation. These spatial frequencies correspond to acoustic Bragg frequencies of 11 to 45 kHz for backscattering applications. The error in wavelength was less than 5 mm with a standard deviation of about 1.0 mm. The system is inexpensive, easily deployable and automated in terms of data extraction. This system could greatly aid in determining the local interface profile for in situ acoustic scattering experiments.     

Radar backscatter from mechanically generated transient breakingwaves. I. Angle of incidence dependence and high resolution surfacemorphology

This paper describes the results of an experimental investigation of the microwave backscatter from several laboratory generated transient breaking waves. The breaking waves were generated mechanically in a 35 m×0.7 m×1.14 m deep wave tank, utilizing chirped wave packets spanning the frequency range 0.8-2.0 Hz. Backscatter measurements, were taken by a X/K-band (10.525 GHz, 24.125 GHz) continuous wave Doppler radar at 30°, 45°, and 60° angles of incidence, and at azimuth angles of 0° and 180° relative to the direction of wave propagation. Surface profiles were measured with a high-speed video camera and laser sheet technique. Specular facets were detected by imaging the surface from the perspective of the radar. The maximum radar backscatter occurred in the upwave direction prior to wave breaking, was nearly polarization independent and corresponded to the detection of specular facets on the steepened wave face. This peak radar backscatter was predicted through a finite conductivity corrected physical optics technique over the measured surface wave profiles. Post break backscatter was predicted using a roughness corrected physical optics technique and the small perturbation method, which was found to predict the returns for vertical polarization, but to under predict the horizontal returns     

Analysis of simrad EM12 multibeam bathymetry and acoustic backscatter data for seafloor mapping,exemplified at the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 45° N

The EM12 multibeam echosounder can record acoustic backscatter information as well as high resolution bathymetry. The dataset presented, from the axis of the Mid-Atlantic Ridge at 45° N, was the first EM12 survey of a mid-ocean ridge. This paper presents methods for utilising the backscatter information. Data processing enables the production of a mosaic of acoustic backscatter, and visualisation techniques are investigated to provide initial qualitative views of the combined backscatter and bathymetry datasets. The co-registration of the backscatter and bathymetry data enables quantitative analysis of their relationships. Various sites of different geological type have been selected and their angular acoustic backscattering relationships estimated, including the effect on backscatter of incidence angle, its regional variability with bottom type and the influence of bottom slope. Incidence angles and bottom type are shown to affect backscatter to a similar degree, while slopes appear to contribute little. The geometry of hull-mounted systems, such as the EM12, is significantly different from that of conventional sidescan sonars, such as GLORIA, and the backscatter images from the two types differ in various respects. Because of the wide variations in incidence angle that are common with hull-mounted systems, and the importance of incidence angle in determining backscatter strength, it is vital to consider the effect of incidence angle during interpretation.     

Pseudorandom realization of transient acoustic waves scattered fromrandomly rough patches

A simple numerical technique is developed for generating pseudorandom realizations of three-dimensional (3-D) transient acoustic waves that are scattered from two-dimensional (2-D) patches of randomly rough surfaces. The rough surface height of a patch is represented numerically in the 2-D horizontal wavenumber plane by choosing a scheme for interpolation between pseudorandom complex coefficients. Using this approach, the realizations of the patches can be generated from experimentally measured roughness power spectra, and phase information is generated in the frequency domain that leads to time spreads in the time domain. The acoustic scattering is modeled here with first-order perturbation theory. The boundary conditions considered here are pressure-release, rigid, and fluid-fluid. Three different spatial windows are considered for defining the patches. In the time domain, the time spreads of the scattered waveforms agree with predictions. In the frequency domain, the phase is seen as a random walk. The solutions developed here can be used with normal mode propagation models or ray propagation models     

First measurements from a deep-tow transient electromagnetic sounding system

An electromagnetic sounding system has been developed to map the shallow electrical conductivity structure of the deep sea floor. The instrument consists of a magnetic source and several colinear magnetic receivers forming an array which is towed along the seafloor. The source generates a time varying magnetic field; the shape of the resulting magnetic field waveform at the receivers depends on the electrical conductivity below the seafloor between the receivers and the source. The instrument can be towed systematically over a study area under acoustic transponder or GPS navigation to construct a map of the electrical conductivity. Towing speeds of greater than 1 m s^–1 (2 knots) can be achieved without adversely effecting data quality. The instrument is sufficiently robust to survive continual contact with thinly sedimented, abrasive basalt. We present the first results from a deployment in August, 1990 near the Cleft Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge along an 8 km track to the west of the spreading center. Unforeseen problems with the instrument restricted the utility of the measurements for constructing detailed vertical conductivity profiles, but the measurements were adequate to determine an average conductivity in the upper 25 m, at more than 70 stations. The conductivity was found to vary from 0.1 to 0.4 S/m along the track.     

基于声学仪器与粒径分析仪研究东海浮游动物昼夜垂直迁移过程

浮游动物的昼夜迁移活动与其种群变动和摄食节律紧密联系,浮游动物昼夜移动的研究已经成为种群动力学研究的一个重要组成部分。2013年夏季在浙江东部近海,结合声学多普勒流速剖面仪(ADCP)和激光粒径分析仪(LISST-100)等仪器进行了一次定点周日连续观测。通过声学反演方法,得到后向散射强度剖面的时间变化,结合LISST-100得到的水体悬浮物粒径谱,研究了浮游动物垂直迁移及其习性。分析发现了可能是精致真刺水蚤的一次昼夜垂直迁移过程,其在夜间进入跃层附近进食,白天蛰伏于底层低温高盐的台湾暖流水中,垂向迁移速度达到了0.05 m/s。LISST-100观测还发现在夜间跃层边界处大粒径颗粒聚集和100～150 μm大小的颗粒物的减少,水体中不同粒径的悬浮颗粒物有明显的昼夜变化节律,推测水体中不同层次生物群落结构存在昼夜差异。     

声学光学法泥沙浓度观测的对比研究

根据光学后散射传感器(Optical Backscatter Sensor,OBS)和声学后散射传感器(Acoustic Backscatting Sensor,ABS)估算悬浮沉积物质量浓度(Suspended sediment concentration,SSC)的原理,在水槽实验室不同波况产生较高悬浮沉积物质量浓度的条件下运用OBS仪器ASM-IV(激光边界层泥沙剖面仪)和ABS仪器AQUAscat1000(多频声学悬沙剖面仪)观测并记录数据。然后用水槽实验抽取的水样标定光学和声学仪器,反演得到高精度的垂向泥沙浓度分布剖面。结果表明,OBS仪器ASM-IV上的不同光学探头测得的浊度与SSC可以用同一个线性关系描述,相关系数高达0.996,进而能够高精度(垂向间距1cm)地反演垂向的SSC剖面;对于本组水槽实验的粉土底质和不同的波况而言,声学仪器比光学仪器的量测精度低;不同频率声学仪器换能器的量测值可相差几个数量级,不同波况条件下的声学仪器反演值与实测SSC的相关性系数在0.716~0.974变化。     

Microtopographical roughness of shallow-water continental shelves

High-resolution (<1 cm) roughness height measurements were made of the seafloor at seven locations on continental-shelf sediments on water depths ranging from 18 to 50 m. Roughness profiles of the sediment-water interface were digitized primarily from stereo photogrammetric measurements of varying pathlengths and increments. The data show that the root-mean-square roughness height varies from 0.3 cm for flat, featureless bottoms to 2.3 cm for rippled bottoms. Slopes of the roughness power spectra were calculated to be -1.5 to near -3.0 and depended to a large extent on contributions in higher spatial frequencies due to coarse sediments. Correlation lengths of different bottom types were estimated by using the Weiner-Khintchine theorem and examining the low-frequency behavior of the roughness spectra derived from the longest roughness profiles     

Matched-field processing in a range-dependent shallow waterenvironment in the Northeast Pacific Ocean

This paper describes matched-field processing (MFP) of data collected in shallow water off the western coast of Vancouver Island in the Northeast Pacific Ocean. The data were collected from a vertical line array (VLA) as part of the PACIFIC SHELF trial carried out on the continental shelf and slope during September 1993, sensors in the 16-element VLA were evenly spaced at depths between 90 and 315 m, while the sound source was towed along radial paths or arcs. In this paper, we present results of the analysis of data from a continuous wave (CW) source which was towed downslope at a depth of 30 m in water from 150 to 375 m deep, in order to model the range-dependence of the acoustic propagation efficiently, the replica fields were calculated using the adiabatic normal mode approximation. This approximation was considered appropriate for the bottom slopes of the environment. Using sparse bathymetric data, a water sound speed profile and estimates of bottom properties, MFP correlations on individual ambiguity surfaces were found to be greater than 0.9 for the strongest signals. On account of environmental mismatch, the source position could not be determined unambiguously from most of the ambiguity surfaces even at high signal-to-noise ratios. Nevertheless, when an efficient linear tracker was applied to the ambiguity surfaces to find tracks, the source track was recovered at both low and high signal-to-noise ratios, this tracker performs the analysis at a constant depth and reports the track with the highest estimated track signal-to-noise ratio     

Acoustic inversion of bottom reflectivity and bottom sound-speedprofile

This paper applies a full-field technique to invert bottom sound profile and bottom reflectivity from simulated acoustic data in a shallow water environment. Bottom sound-speed profile and bottom reflectivity have been traditionally estimated using seismic reflection/refraction techniques when acoustic ray paths and travel time can be identified and measured from the data. However, in shallow water, the many multipaths due to bottom reflection/refraction make such identification and measurement rather difficult. A full-field inversion technique is presented here that uses a broad-band source and a vertical array for bottom sound-speed and reflectivity inversion. The technique is a modified matched field inversion technique referred to as matched beam processing. Matched beam processing uses conventional beamforming processing to transform the field data into the beam domain and correlate that with the replica field also in the beam domain. This allows the analysis to track the acoustic field as a function of incident/reflected angle and minimize contamination or mismatch due to sidelobe leakage     

Estimating Deep Seafloor Interface and Volume Roughness Parameters Using the Multibeam-Hydrosweep System

Utilizing a hull-mounted, multinarrow beam echosounder onboard RV Polarstern, we measured variation of acoustic backscatter with incidence angles at two different sites in the Southern Oceans (Agulhas Plateau and the Riiser Larsen Sea). We modeled the data, using a composite roughness model, including water-sediment interface roughness and sediment volume roughness parameters. The model effectively uses the near normal incidence angle backscatter to determine the seafloor interface roughness parameters employing Helmholtz-Kirchhoff theory. Beyond 20° incidence angles, an application of Rayleigh-Rice theory is made by using a necessary splicing technique (combining both of the theories at 20° incidence angle). The estimated interface and volume roughness parameters are found to be in accordance with the known area geology.     

Correlation of sidescan backscatter with grain size distribution of surficial seabed sediments

The dependence of acoustic backscatter on sediment grain size distribution is examined using dual frequency (100 and 410 kHz) sidescan sonar and 22 sediment grab samples from the Loch Linnhe artificial reef site on the west coast of Scotland. The sidescan data were processed to remove an empirically estimated average grazing angle dependence on backscatter. The processed data were analysed by forming histograms of pixels extracted from a 20 m² box around each ground truth site. A positive correlation (r=0.73) between mean backscatter intensity and mean grain size was obtained, i.e., the coarsest samples had the brightest backscatter. A positive correlation (r=0.59) was also found between the standard deviations of the backscatter and grain size distributions, i.e., poorly sorted sediments gave the most variable backscatter. The performance of the sidescan data was compared to results from a co-incident single-beam echo-sounder RoxAnn survey. The RoxAnn roughness index E1 compared well with the sidescan, whilst the RoxAnn hardness index E2 did not. This may be due to a physical link between the acoustic measures. The comparison showed the sidescan to have delivered a significantly higher-resolution image of the seabed for a similar amount of ship-time. Imaging of the artificial reef modules themselves was found to be frequency dependent.     

Estimating Deep Seafloor Interface and Volume Roughness Parameters Using the Multibeam-Hydrosweep System

Utilizing a hull-mounted, multinarrow beam echosounder onboard RV Polarstern, we measured variation of acoustic backscatter with incidence angles at two different sites in the Southern Oceans (Agulhas Plateau and the Riiser Larsen Sea). We modeled the data, using a composite roughness model, including water-sediment interface roughness and sediment volume roughness parameters. The model effectively uses the near normal incidence angle backscatter to determine the seafloor interface roughness parameters employing Helmholtz-Kirchhoff theory. Beyond 20° incidence angles, an application of Rayleigh-Rice theory is made by using a necessary splicing technique (combining both of the theories at 20° incidence angle). The estimated interface and volume roughness parameters are found to be in accordance with the known area geology.     

Remote estimation of surficial seafloor properties through the application Angular Range Analysis to multibeam sonar data

The variation of the backscatter strength with the angle of incidence is an intrinsic property of the seafloor, which can be used in methods for acoustic seafloor characterization. Although multibeam sonars acquire backscatter over a wide range of incidence angles, the angular information is normally neglected during standard backscatter processing and mosaicking. An approach called Angular Range Analysis has been developed to preserve the backscatter angular information, and use it for remote estimation of seafloor properties. Angular Range Analysis starts with the beam-by-beam time-series of acoustic backscatter provided by the multibeam sonar and then corrects the backscatter for seafloor slope, beam pattern, time varying and angle varying gains, and area of insonification. Subsequently a series of parameters are calculated from the stacking of consecutive time series over a spatial scale that approximates half of the swath width. Based on these calculated parameters and the inversion of an acoustic backscatter model, we estimate the acoustic impedance and the roughness of the insonified area on the seafloor. In the process of this inversion, the behavior of the model parameters is constrained by established inter-property relationships. The approach has been tested using a 300 kHz Simrad EM3000 multibeam sonar in Little Bay, NH. Impedance estimates are compared to in situ measurements of sound speed. The comparison shows a very good correlation, indicating the potential of this approach for robust seafloor characterization.     

Enhanced Acoustic Backscatter Due to High Abundance of Sand Dollars, Dendraster excentricus

Detailed acoustic surveys of benthic sediments were conducted in July 1995 and September 1998 in the vicinity of Humboldt Bay, California. During these surveys, a band of enhanced acoustic backscatter was observed offshore from the bay entrance, approximately parallel to the isobaths, in water depths ranging from 16-24 m. In order to assess the cause of the increase in backscatter levels, a more comprehensive study was conducted in August and September 1999 using 100 kHz side-scan sonar, bottom grab sampling and underwater video recording. New observations indicated that a dense population of sand dollars ( Dendraster excentricus ) coincided with the enhanced backscatter band. Compared to the two previous acoustic studies, the central section of the band expanded westward by 180 m and the southern section of the band shifted eastward by 160 m, possibly resulting from a change in the biological or physical factors which influence the location and breadth of sand dollars. The relationship between high sand dollar abundance and enhanced acoustic backscatter was further verified in the nearshore region off Samoa Beach California, where a dense, banded population of sand dollars was previously observed. Video footage confirmed the presence of a band of sand dollars, also nominally parallel to the isobaths, in water depths of 8-15 m. A band of enhanced backscatter coincided with the dense sand dollar population. The identification of dense aggregations of sand dollars through enhanced acoustic backscatter could lead to the use of acoustic techniques to study sand dollar distributions and abundance.     

Vertical Migration of Sound Scatterers in the Southern Yellow Sea in Summer

Acoustic volume backscattering strength data were collected and Conductivity Temperature Depth (CTD) measur e m e n t s were conducted in the southern Yellow Sea in summer 2005 and 2006. The high temporal and vertical resolution acoustic data measured with a 307 kHz Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP) and a 250 kHz acoustic Doppler profile (ADP) had dominant diel variation, which resulted from vertical migration of sound scatterers. Some scatterers congregating in the bottom layer in the daytime migrated upward at dusk, and migrated downward into the bottom layer at dawn. The migration speeds were estimated. More than 33 days data show that the diel migration varies with time. The feature of migration measured with ADCP and ADP is consistent to some extent with what is described in the study on vertical migration of zooplankton in the southern Yellow Sea with conventional net samples.