Signal processing for precise ocean mapping

In this work a bottom return signal model and accompanying signal processor are described for a wide swath bottom mapping system. An incoherent scattering model is employed under the assumptions that the bottom is a random rough surface composed of a large number of independent scatters with spatial correlation distance negligible relative to the ensonified area. The envelope of the signal received from the various spatial directions is modeled as a smooth, nearly Gaussian-shaped function representing the effects of the twoway spatial beam pattern, angle of incidence, and depth corrupted by multiplicative and additive noise stochastic processes. A signal processor is derived which makes use of the a priori information vested in this smooth function to provide a matched filter for the received signal envelope for each spatial direction. Computer simulation results are presented and the performance of the signal processor examined in a qualitative fashion.     

Broad-band geoacoustic inversion in shallow water from waveguideimpulse response measurements on a single hydrophone: theory andexperimental results

The paper discusses an inversion method that allows the rapid determination of in situ geoacoustic properties of the ocean bottom without resorting to large acoustic receiving apertures, synthetic or real. The method is based on broad-band waterborne measurements and modeling of the waveguide impulse response between a controlled source and a single hydrophone. Results from Yellow Shark '94 experiments in Mediterranean shallow waters using single elements of a vertical array are reviewed, inversion of the bottom parameters is performed with an objective function that includes the processing gain of a model-based matched filter (MBMF) receiver relative to the conventional matched filter. The MBMF reference signals incorporate waveguide Green's functions for known geometry and water column acoustic model and hypothesized bottom geoacoustic models. The experimental inversion results demonstrated that, even for complex environmental conditions, a single transmission of a broad-band (200-800 Hz) coded signal received at a single depth and a few hundred forward modeling runs were sufficient to correctly resolve the bottom features. These included the sound speed profile, attenuation, density, and thickness of the top clay sediment layer, and sound speed and attenuation of the silty clay bottom. Exhaustive parameter search proved unequivocally the low-ambiguity and high-resolution properties of the MBMF-derived objective. The single-hydrophone results compare well with those obtained under identical conditions from matched-field processing of multitone pressure fields sampled on the vertical array. Both of these results agree with expectations from geophysical ground truth. The MBMF has been applied successfully to a field of advanced drifting acoustic buoys on the Western Sicilian shelf, demonstrating the general applicability of the inversion method presented     

机载激光测深系统研制中的关键技术

根据机载激光测深系统的工作机理,分析梳理了研制过程中涉及的主要关键技术,包括:高重复频率激光器研制、大动态范围微弱光信号提取、海底回波识别、海面波浪改正、浅水与深水分离测量、高速多通道数字采集、海陆分界识别、定位测姿、水位改正和测深数据质量控制等技术。只有成功突破上述关键技术,才能实现《海道测量规范》要求的测深精度指标。     

Coherent seismic sea-bottom profiling based on broadband signals

Experimental results of the seismic profiling with bottom penetration up to 1000 m based on broadband signals and conducted in the Caspian Sea sites are presented. Use has been made of synchronized sequences of probing pulses with linear frequency modulation at a frequency deviation of 50 to100 Hz. The pulses were emitted by a towed sound source of an original design (acoustic power up to 300 W, frequency ranged from 100 to 1000 Hz) and received by a standard digital seismic streamer. The processing of the signals involved the matched filtering of the individual pulses and the trajectory accumulation of a long sequence of pulses lengthwise the horizontal-homogeneous reflecting layers of the bottom structure. The adaptive stacking procedure taking into account the linear inclinations of the individual layers allowed us to enlarge the stacking interval by up to 100 pulses and to increase the effective depth and the spatial resolution of the seismic profiling, which gave us a total increase of more than 30 dB in the S/N ratio. In our view, the seismic profiling using low-power (about 100 W) and broadband (up to several hundred Hz) coherent sound sources represents a promising technology for decreasing the hazardous impact on aquatic ecosystems. The approach developed is an alternative to the conventional technology of marine seismic prospecting based on powerful pulse sources of the shock type (air guns, sparkers) in the low frequency range (less than ～200 Hz).     

Acoustic model-based matched filter processing for fadingtime-dispersive ocean channels: theory and experiment

It is shown that the performance of a conventional matched filter can be improved if the reference (replica) channel compensates for the distortion by the ocean medium. A model-based matched filter is generated by correlating the received signal with a reference channel that consists of the transmitted signal convolved with the impulse response of the medium. The channel impulse responses are predicted with a broadband propagation model using in situ sound speed measured data and archival bottom loss data. The relative performance of conventional and model-based matched filter processing is compared for large time-bandwidth-product linear-frequency-modulated signals propagating in a dispersive waveguide. From ducted propagation measurements conducted in an area west of Sardinia, the model-based matched filter localizes the depths of both the source and receiving array and the range between them. The peak signal-to-noise ratio for the model-based matched filter is always larger than that of the conventional filter     

A New Method for Matched Field Localization Based on Two-Hydrophone

The conventional matched field processing (MFP) uses large vertical arrays to locate an underwater acoustic target. However, the use of large vertical arrays increases equipment and computational cost, and causes some problems such as element failures, and array tilting to degrade the localization performance. In this paper, the matched field localization method using two-hydrophone is proposed for underwater acoustic pulse signals with an unknown emitted signal waveform. Using the received signal of hydrophones and the ocean channel pulse response which can be calculated from an acoustic propagation model, the spectral matrix of the emitted signal for different source locations can be estimated by employing the method of frequency domain least squares. The resulting spectral matrix of the emitted signal for every grid region is then multiplied by the ocean channel frequency response matrix to generate the spectral matrix of replica signal. Finally, the matched field localization using two-hydrophone for underwater acoustic pulse signals of an unknown emitted signal waveform can be estimated by comparing the difference between the spectral matrixes of the received signal and the replica signal. The simulated results from a shallow water environment for broadband signals demonstrate the significant localization performance of the proposed method. In addition, the localization accuracy in five different cases are analyzed by the simulation trial, and the results show that the proposed method has a sharp peak and low sidelobes, overcoming the problem of high sidelobes in the conventional MFP due to lack of the number of elements.     

Amplitude calibration of an acoustic backscattered signal from a bottom-moored ADCP based on long-term measurement series

A possible approach to, and preliminary results of, amplitude calibration of acoustic signals backscattered from an ADCP moored at the bottom of the near-shelf zone of the Black Sea is considered. The aim of this work is to obtain vertical profiles of acoustic scattering signal levels, showing the real characteristics of the volume content of suspended sediments in sea water in units of conventional acoustic turbidity for a given signal frequency. In this case, the assumption about the intervals of maximum acoustic transparency and vertical homogeneity of the marine environment in long-term series of ADCP measurements is used. According to this hypothesis, the intervals of the least values of acoustic backscattered signals are detected, an empirical transfer function of the ADCP reception path is constructed, and it is calibrated. Normalized sets of acoustic backscattered signals relative to a signal from a level of conventionally clear water are obtained. New features in the behavior of vertical profiles of an acoustic echo-signal are revealed due to the calibration. The results of this work will be used in subsequent analysis of the vertical and time variations in suspended sediment content in the near-shelf zone of the Black Sea.     

A digital event-recording ocean bottom seismometer capsule

The ocean bottom seismometer capsule contains a 1 Hz. vertical seismometer and triggerable or programmable digital recording system. The output of the seismometer is continuously digitized at a preselected rate of 64, 128, or 256 samples/sec. The digital data words are mixed with a time code and synchronization characters, serialized and passed through a 1536 sample shift register which acts as a delay line. The serial output bits are then encoded and recorded on a SONY TC800B tape recorder which is turned on when a seismic event occurs. The event trigger occurs when the seismic signal jumps to 8 times the time averaged input signal. A memory may be programmed to run the recorder on a schedule so that small amplitude signals from refraction shots are sure to be recorded. Data are recovered using the same recorder for playback and a decoder which provides an analog output for field data interpretation or a digital output for computer analysis. An acoustic transponder allows precise ranges between the capsule and ship to be determined. In addition, commands for the capsule to release or to transmit diagnostic data may be given from the surface ship. The capsule falls freely to the ocean bottom. After a predetermined time or when a release command is received, it is released from a 68 kg steel tripod and floats to the surface. A dual timer and explosive bolt system is used to increase recovery reliability.The first capsules were designed and constructed between October 1972 and October 1973. Good results were obtained from 38 out of 43 launchings made on six expeditions in 1974, 1975, and 1976. Four capsules have been lost.     

基于快速数字锁相的溶解氧检测优化设计

溶解氧浓度检测在水产养殖和环境监测中具有重要的意义。本文提出了一种基于快速数字锁相的溶解氧检测优化设计,利用快速数字锁相算法与过采样技术,实现了荧光信号和调制信号的快速相位解调,并得到二者相位差,根据Stern-Volmer方程求出溶解氧浓度值。本文分析了调制频率对测量结果的影响,选择合适的调制频率用于测量,并利用最小二乘法对测量结果进行拟合,拟合后的确定系数R-square为0.999 25。实验数据表明,测量结果相对误差（RE）小于±1.5%,相对标准差（RSD）小于4%,稳定时间小于50 s。本文提出的优化设计不仅具有较高的测量精度,还简化了硬件设计,降低了成本。     

Precise Multibeam Acoustic Bathymetry

The maximum error in ocean depth measurement as specified by the International Hydrographic Organization is 1% for depth greater than 30m. Current acoustic multibeam bathymetric systems used for depth measurement are subject to errors from various sources which may significantly exceed this limit. The lack of sound speed profiles may be one significant source of error. Because of the limited ability of sound speed profile measurement, depth values are usually estimated using an assumed profile. If actual sound speed profiles are known, depth estimate errors can be corrected using ray-tracing methods. For depth measurements, the calculation of the location at which a sound pulse impinges on the sea bottom varies with the variation of the sound speed profile. We demonstrate that this location is almost unchanged for a family of sound speed profiles with the same surface value and the same area under them. Based on this observation, we can construct a simple constant-gradient equivalent sound speed profile to correct errors. Compared with ray-tracing methods, the equivalent sound speed profile method is more efficient. If a vertical depth is known (or independently measured), then depth correction for a multibeam system can be accomplished without knowledge of the actual sound speed profile. This leads to a new type of precise acoustic multibeam bathymetric system.     

Precise Multibeam Acoustic Bathymetry

The maximum error in ocean depth measurement as specified by the International Hydrographic Organization is 1% for depth greater than 30m. Current acoustic multibeam bathymetric systems used for depth measurement are subject to errors from various sources which may significantly exceed this limit. The lack of sound speed profiles may be one significant source of error. Because of the limited ability of sound speed profile measurement, depth values are usually estimated using an assumed profile. If actual sound speed profiles are known, depth estimate errors can be corrected using ray-tracing methods. For depth measurements, the calculation of the location at which a sound pulse impinges on the sea bottom varies with the variation of the sound speed profile. We demonstrate that this location is almost unchanged for a family of sound speed profiles with the same surface value and the same area under them. Based on this observation, we can construct a simple constant-gradient equivalent sound speed profile to correct errors. Compared with ray-tracing methods, the equivalent sound speed profile method is more efficient. If a vertical depth is known (or independently measured), then depth correction for a multibeam system can be accomplished without knowledge of the actual sound speed profile. This leads to a new type of precise acoustic multibeam bathymetric system.     

Vertical structure of time-dependent currents in a mid-ocean ridge axial valley

Velocity measurements with high vertical resolution, and a two-dimensional linear quasianalytic model for subinertial oscillatory flows, are used to analyze the vertical structure of flow in the axial valley at Endeavour Segment, Juan de Fuca Ridge. At a site away from hydrothermal vents, observed semidiurnal flows are independent of depth, rectilinear and parallel to the valley axis, while subinertial flows are intensified and re-aligned along-valley toward the bottom. This behavior is consistent with solutions from the model, which show attenuation of subinertial across-valley flow with depth. This cross-flow attenuation is most pronounced for valleys with widths less than the internal Rossby radius of deformation. Reduction of across-valley flow with depth results in a weakened Coriolis force that cannot fully balance the along-valley pressure-gradient force. The resulting force imbalance yields a directly accelerated bottom-intensified along-valley flow. The importance of this physical process in other submarine valleys depends on their geometry, stratification and latitude. If active, this mechanism provides a dynamic background environment for the axial valley to which hydrothermal venting would add complexity. The strong vertical shears and spiraling flows observed within the axial valley for diurnal tidal and lower-frequency flows have important implications in the transport of hydrothermal vent fluid and the dispersal of larvae of vent organisms by bottom currents.     

Forward Scattering Observation With Partially Coherent Spatial Processing of Vertical Array Signals in Shallow Water

In this paper, we address the problem of detecting an inhomogeneity in shallow water by observing changes in the acoustic field as the inhomogeneity passes between an acoustic source and vertical line array of receivers. A signal processing scheme is developed to detect the perturbed field in the presence of the much stronger primary source signal, and to estimate such parameters as the time when the inhomogeneity crosses the source-receiver path, its velocity, and its size. The effectiveness of incoherent, coherent, and partially coherent spatial processing of the array signals is evaluated using models and data obtained from experiments in a lake. The effect of different bottom types is also considered, and it is shown that partially coherent processing can have a significant advantage depending on the bottom type. Estimates of the minimum input signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs) for which the diffracted signal can be observed are presented.     

ICESat-2激光卫星与光学遥感影像融合水深测量

针对浅海测深的数据特点和应用需求,以我国南海甘泉岛为例,研究了利用ICESat-2(Ice,Cloud,and Land Elevation Satellite-2)激光卫星数据和光学遥感影像开展主被动融合水深测量的方法。首先通过信号点提取、水面/水底识别、水下点折射改正等步骤处理ICESat-2数据,获得水深值,随后以激光点作为控制,计算光学水深反演模型参数,最后由点及面地获取大范围高精度水深。实验表明,甘泉岛区域主被动融合测深中误差优于1.30m,基于激光卫星数据的主被动融合测深方法能够为浅水水深测量提供新手段。     

Inversion of Lloyd Mirror Field for Determining a Source's Track

This paper describes a simple approach for inferring the depth and track of a sound source at short ranges by inversion of acoustic field data at a set of sea bottom hydrophones. At short ranges, the acoustic field consists of a dominant Lloyd mirror (LM) signal from the direct and surface-reflected ray paths and a series of bottom-reflected paths that modulate the LM signal. A computationally efficient propagation model based on the method of images is developed to calculate replica fields for the inversion. The matched field inversion method for inferring the source depth and track is demonstrated using data from an experiment carried out in shallow water off the east coast of Canada. The estimated values were in very good agreement with independent measurements taken during the experiment.     

基于分数阶傅里叶变换的水下目标速度估计

在高斯白噪声背景下,匹配滤波器作为线性调频信号的最优检测器,在水声信号处理中被广泛应用。 当发射信号为线性调频信号时,由水下目标径向速度引起的多普勒频移会造成回波和样本之间失配, 使匹配滤波器的检测性能下降,增加了目标速度估计的难度。 利用分数阶傅里叶变换对于线性调频信号的聚焦特性,提出了应用分数阶傅里叶变换的水下运动目标线性调频回波检测算法,完成对目标速度的估计, 推导目标运动速度与分数阶傅里叶变换阶数之间的关系,并对测量结果进行误差分析。 仿真测试表明,该算法可有效地估计混响背景下的目标径向速度,且具有良好的估计性能。     

Performance analysis of digital acoustic communication in a shallowwater channel

The major obstacle to underwater acoustic communication is the interference of multi-path signals due to surface and bottom reflections. High speed acoustic transmission over a shallow water channel characterized by small grazing angles presents formidable difficulties. The reflection losses associated with such small angles are low, causing large amplitudes in multi-path signals. In this paper we propose a simple but effective model for multi-path interference, which is then used to assess the performance of a digital communication system operating in a shallow water channel. The results indicate that transmission rates in excess of 8 kbits/s are possible over a distance of 13 km and channel depth of only 20 meters. Such a system offers improved performance in applications such as data collection from underwater sensors     

机载海洋激光雷达测量叶绿素a浓度、悬移质浓度和浅海深度的性能估计

以14:00时离水辐亮度作为背景光强度,模拟355nm激光雷达测量不同深度水层叶绿素a荧光的信噪比.分析体积衰减系数c、辐照度衰减系数k、散射系数b和透明度盘深度(SDD)的关系.最后模拟532nm激光雷达测量悬移质浓度的最大测量深度和误判率小于10%时的最大海底探测深度随SDD的变化.     

Time-domain geoacoustic inversion of high-frequency chirp signal from a simple towed system

An inversion method using a towed system consisting of a source and two receivers is presented. High-frequency chirp signals that have been emitted from the source are received after multiple penetrations and reflections from the shallow water sub-bottom structure and are processed for geoacoustical parameter estimation. The data are processed such that a good resolution and robustness is achieved via matched filtering, which requires information about the source signal. The inversion is formulated as an optimization problem, which maximizes the cost function defined as a normalized correlation between the measured and modeled signals directly in the time domain. The very fast simulated reannealing optimization method is applied to the global search problem. The modeled time signal is obtained using a ray approach. An experiment was carried out in the Mediterranean Sea using a towed source and receiver system. The inversion method is applied to the experimental data and results are found to be consistent with previous frequency-domain analyses using measurements from a towed horizontal array of receivers and measurements on a vertical array.     

High-resolution beamforming by the Wigner-Ville distribution method

The Wigner-Ville distribution (WVD) function was originally proposed by Wigner in quantum mechanics and Ville applied it for signal analysis. This method has made it possible to represent a signal's power density spectrum in the time-frequency domain as a natural extension of the Fourier transform method (FTM). Recently, it has attracted great interest for its validity to analyze time-varying signals accomplished by the development of high-speed digital signal processing, and it is used for analyzing nonstationary signals. Conventionally, a sonar beamformer is constructed using delay lines, but the development of the high-speed processor has made it possible to apply the FTM for sonar beamforming. However, the bearing resolution of the beamformer is not enough for discriminating small underwater objects on the sea bottom by this method. To solve this problem, we aim to apply the WVD method, which can represent finer structure of signals as a natural extension of the FTM, for sonar beamforming to obtain sharper beam patterns than those of the beamforming method by FTM. Simulation results by computational calculations to clarify the resolution by the WVD method, which is presented in this paper, becomes approximately twice as high as by conventional FTM. The results of an experiment at sea also show the performance of this method