Multi-angle backscatter classification and sub-bottom profiling for improved seafloor characterization

This study applies three classification methods exploiting the angular dependence of acoustic seafloor backscatter along with high resolution sub-bottom profiling for seafloor sediment characterization in the Eckernförde Bay, Baltic Sea Germany. This area is well suited for acoustic backscatter studies due to its shallowness, its smooth bathymetry and the presence of a wide range of sediment types. Backscatter data were acquired using a Seabeam1180 (180 kHz) multibeam echosounder and sub-bottom profiler data were recorded using a SES-2000 parametric sonar transmitting 6 and 12 kHz. The high density of seafloor soundings allowed extracting backscatter layers for five beam angles over a large part of the surveyed area. A Bayesian probability method was employed for sediment classification based on the backscatter variability at a single incidence angle, whereas Maximum Likelihood Classification (MLC) and Principal Components Analysis (PCA) were applied to the multi-angle layers. The Bayesian approach was used for identifying the optimum number of acoustic classes because cluster validation is carried out prior to class assignment and class outputs are ordinal categorical values. The method is based on the principle that backscatter values from a single incidence angle express a normal distribution for a particular sediment type. The resulting Bayesian classes were well correlated to median grain sizes and the percentage of coarse material. The MLC method uses angular response information from five layers of training areas extracted from the Bayesian classification map. The subsequent PCA analysis is based on the transformation of these five layers into two principal components that comprise most of the data variability. These principal components were clustered in five classes after running an external cluster validation test. In general both methods MLC and PCA, separated the various sediment types effectively, showing good agreement (kappa >0.7) with the Bayesian approach which also correlates well with ground truth data (r²?>?0.7). In addition, sub-bottom data were used in conjunction with the Bayesian classification results to characterize acoustic classes with respect to their geological and stratigraphic interpretation. The joined interpretation of seafloor and sub-seafloor data sets proved to be an efficient approach for a better understanding of seafloor backscatter patchiness and to discriminate acoustically similar classes in different geological/bathymetric settings.     

The fate of dumped sediments monitored by a high-resolution multibeam echosounder system,Weser Estuary,German Bight

With the development of high-resolution multibeam echosounder systems (MBES) for surveying shallow-water areas a new tool is available to monitor rapid changes in seabed morphology as, e.g., caused by the dumping of dredge spoil in coastal waters. In this study, four data sets of repeated bathymetric surveys with a MBES were processed and analyzed. The data were collected in a 1.94-km² dumping site in the outer Weser Estuary (German Bight). Between June and December 1998, 2.6 million m³ of dredged sediment were deposited there. The bathymetric maps generated in the course of this study reveal features such as subaqueous dunes, scour holes, and mounds of dumped dredge spoil. The mean water depth decreased by about 1 m during the dumping period. Furthermore, difference grids showing changes in sediment volume allowed a calculation of the sediment budget for the monitored area. After a time period of only 5 months, 0.5 million m³ of the originally dumped 2.6 million m³ of dredge spoil had already been removed from the dumping site.     

Formation of chemogenic calcite in super-anoxic seawater — Framvaren, southern Norway

Framvaren, a super-anoxic fjord in southern Norway, contains 7–8 mmoll⁻¹ of sulphide and a total carbonate concentration of 18.5 mmol kg⁻¹ in the bottom water. The chemistry of calcium has been studied, considering sources, biogenic and chemical processes and sedimentary sinks. Calcium associated with the bacteria biomass at the redox interface (18m depth) appears to be the primary source of dissolved calcium in the deep, anoxic water. Excess calcium and high total carbonate cause supersaturation of calcite, which is precipitated chemogenically. Calcite (and presumably some aragonite) is identified both in sediment trap material and the bottom sediments below the depth of supersaturation.     

Eddy Diffusion Coefficients of Suspended Particulate Matter: Effects of Wind Energy Transfer and Stratification

Gross sedimentation rates (GSR) have been measured using sediment traps placed at nine different levels above the bed (0·3, 0·5, 0·8, 1·0, 2·0, 4·0, 6·0, 8·0 and 10·0 m). The sediment traps were deployed for 1·25 years and recovered 28 times during the study period. Low average GSR values of 5·5 g m^-2 day^-1 were obtained at 10·0 m, and high average GSR values of 114·8 g m^-2 day^-1 were obtained at 0·3 m. An expression for the eddy diffusion coefficient of suspended particulate matter (K_s), based on the measured GSR is given. The expression has been used for modelling of K_s at the different trap levels above the bed. High values (≈42 cm² s^-1) of K_s were obtained at the upper traps, whereas low values (≈2 cm² s^-1) were obtained near the bed. Comparison between level of turbulent energy in terms of shear stress at the boundaries of the water column, i.e. from the wind and the bed flow, showed that wind energy exceeded that of the bed flow by a factor 16. At 5·0 m K_s was positively correlated (r=0·66) to the eddy diffusion coefficient of momentum (K_m) derived from the wind energy transfer to the water, giving an average β of 0·5 for K_s =βK_m. The density difference between surface and bottom waters has been designated a parameter of stratification, and is discussed in relation to variations of K_s and K_m .     

Quaternary geology of the Amazonian Lowland

The Quaternary history of the Amazon lowlands is characterized by deposition of sediments of Andean provenance and by the influences of changing sea levels. Areas well above the present water tables were not reached by Pleistocene high-water stages. These areas have been intensively weathered since the Tertiary, forming hard lateritic weathering horizons. These weathering horizons are best explained by the relatively constant, humid tropical climate throughout the Quaternary. In the western Amazonian Lowland, flood plains corresponding to the different Pleistocene sea-level heights were formed. During low sea level, erosion in the drainage areas increased and the water levels of the central Amazon River system were lowered. Valleys drowned and lakes formed in the lower reaches of rivers and creeks during high sea-level stages. These lakes (ria lakes) remained in the valleys with rivers having a low sediment load. Seismic profiling (3.5 kHz) in some of these lakes clearly showed deposits of the three last periods of Quaternary high sea-level stages.     

Wind-induced drift of objects at sea: The leeway field method

A method for conducting leeway field experiments to establish the drift properties of small objects (0.1-25 m) is described. The objective is to define a standardized and unambiguous procedure for condensing the drift properties down to a set of coefficients that may be incorporated into existing stochastic trajectory forecast models for drifting objects of concern to search and rescue operations and other activities involving vessels lost at sea such as containers with hazardous material.An operational definition of the slip or wind and wave-induced motion of a drifting object relative to the ambient current is proposed. This definition taken together with a strict adherence to a 10 m wind speed allows us to refer unambiguously to the leeway of a drifting object. We recommend that all objects if possible be studied using what we term the direct method, where the object’s leeway is studied directly using an attached current meter.We establish a minimum set of parameters that should be estimated for a drifting object for it to be included in the operational forecast models used for prediction of search areas for drifting objects.We divide drifting objects into four categories, depending on their size. For the smaller objects (less than 0.5 m), an indirect method of measuring the object’s motion relative to the ambient current must be used. For larger objects, direct measurement of the motion through the near-surface water masses is strongly recommended. Larger objects are categorized according to the ability to attach current meters and wind monitoring systems to them.The leeway field method proposed here is illustrated with results from field work where three objects were studied in their distress configuration; a 1:3.3 sized model of a 40-foot Shipping container, a World War II mine and a 220 l (55-gallon) oil drum.     

Cratering and modification of wet‐target craters: Projectile impact experiments and field observations of the Lockne marine‐target crater (Sweden)

Abstract— Marine impacts are one category of crater formation in volatile targets. At target water depths exceeding the diameter of the impactor, the zones of vaporization, melting, and excavation of the standard land‐target cratering model develop partially or entirely in the water column. The part of the crater that has a potential of being preserved (seafloor crater) may to a great extent be formed by material emplacement and excavation processes that are very different from land‐target craters. These processes include a high‐energy, water‐jet‐driven excavation flow. At greater water depths, the difference in strength of the target layers causes a concentric crater to evolve. The crater consists of a wide water cavity with a shallow excavation flow along the seabed surrounding a nested, deeper crater in the basement. The modification of the crater is likewise influenced by the water through its forceful resurge to fill the cavity in the water mass and the seafloor. The resurge flow is strongly erosive and incorporates both ejecta and rip‐up material from the seabed surrounding the excavated crater. A combination of field observations and impact experiments has helped us analyze the processes affecting the zone between the basement crater and the maximum extent of the water cavity. The resurge erosion is facilitated by fragmentation of the upper parts of the solid target caused by a) spallation and b) vibrations from the shallow excavation flow and, subsequently, c) the vertical collapse of the water cavity rim wall. In addition, poorly consolidated and saturated sediments may collapse extensively, possibly aided by a violent expansion of the pore water volume when it turns into a spray during passage of the rarefaction wave. This process may also occur at impacts into water‐saturated targets without an upper layer of seawater present. Our results have implications for impacts on both Earth and Mars, and possibly anywhere in the solar system where volatiles exist/have existed in the upper part of the target.     

GETEMME—a mission to explore the Martian satellites and the fundamentals of solar system physics

GETEMME (Gravity, Einstein??s Theory, and Exploration of the Martian Moons?? Environment), a mission which is being proposed in ESA??s Cosmic Vision program, shall be launched for Mars on a Soyuz Fregat in 2020. The spacecraft will initially rendezvous with Phobos and Deimos in order to carry out a comprehensive mapping and characterization of the two satellites and to deploy passive Laser retro-reflectors on their surfaces. In the second stage of the mission, the spacecraft will be transferred into a lower 1500-km Mars orbit, to carry out routine Laser range measurements to the reflectors on Phobos and Deimos. Also, asynchronous two-way Laser ranging measurements between the spacecraft and stations of the ILRS (International Laser Ranging Service) on Earth are foreseen. An onboard accelerometer will ensure a high accuracy for the spacecraft orbit determination. The inversion of all range and accelerometer data will allow us to determine or improve dramatically on a host of dynamic parameters of the Martian satellite system. From the complex motion and rotation of Phobos and Deimos we will obtain clues on internal structures and the origins of the satellites. Also, crucial data on the time-varying gravity field of Mars related to climate variation and internal structure will be obtained. Ranging measurements will also be essential to improve on several parameters in fundamental physics, such as the Post-Newtonian parameter ?? as well as time-rate changes of the gravitational constant and the Lense-Thirring effect. Measurements by GETEMME will firmly embed Mars and its satellites into the Solar System reference frame.