First results from the North Iceland experiment

Between June 2004 and September 2004 a temporary seismic network was installed on the northern insular shelf of Iceland and onshore in north Iceland. The seismic setup aimed at resolving the subsurface structure and, thus, the geodynamical transition from Icelandic crust to typical oceanic crust along Kolbeinsey Ridge. The experiment recorded about 1,000 earthquakes. The region encloses the Tjörnes Fracture Zone containing the Husavik–Flatey strike-slip fault and the extensional seismic Grimsey Lineament. Most of the seismicity occurs in swarms offshore. Preliminary results reveal typical mid-ocean crust north of Grimsey and a heterogeneous structure with major velocity anomalies along the seismic lineaments and north–south trending subsurface features. Complementary bathymetric mapping highlight numerous extrusion features along the Grimsey Lineament and Kolbeinsey Ridge. The seismic dataset promises to deliver new insights into the tectonic framework for earthquakes in an extensional transform zone along the global mid-ocean ridge system.     

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.     

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.     

一种程控增益低噪声水声接收机的设计

本文介绍了一种数字测深仪的接收机的具体设计，其特点是低噪声、增益程序控制，可以输出高质量的回波信号。稍加调整，即可用作其它声纳的接收机。     

中朝边境天池破火山口湖底地形多波束测深探测

为调查天池破火山口湖的基本参数和湖底地形特征,研究破火山口的内部构造、破火山口的组合样式和垮塌堆积分布,本文采用多波束测深方法,对天池湖底地形进行了探测。探测结果显示:天池最大水深值为373.2m,天池水域边界实测周长为13.44km,天池湖水面面积9.4km~2,天池总蓄水量约为19.88×10~8m~3。天池周边分布4个温泉,温度为7~47℃。根据湖底地形推断,现今的天池破火山口形成于千年大喷发。其后,在天池西侧形成一个喷火口,东侧形成一个熔岩丘。天池湖底存在5个较大的破火山口内壁垮塌堆积区,但在湖底未见熔岩流。天池边缘出露的温泉点对应环状断裂,同时反映深部存在岩浆体。     

结合遗传算法的LVQ神经网络在声学底质分类中的应用

学习向量量化（Learning Vector Quantization,LVQ）神经网络在声学底质分类中具有广泛应用. 常用的LVQ神经网络存在神经元未被充分利用以及算法对初值敏感的问题,影响底质分类精度. 本文提出采用遗传算法（Genetic Algorithms,GA）优化神经网络的初始值,将GA与LVQ神经网络结合起来,迅速得到最佳的神经网络初始权值向量,实现对海底基岩、砾石、砂、细砂以及泥等底质类型的快速、准确识别. 将其应用于青岛胶州湾海区底质分类识别研究中,通过与标准的LVQ神经网络的分类结果进行比较表明,该方法在分类速度以及精度上都有了较大提高.     

Megaplume bubble process visualization by 3D multibeam sonar mapping

MultiBeam echosounder data were collected during a surface-ship survey of the 22/4b well site in the North Sea in September 2011 using a Teledyne-Reson 7125. Modern multibeam echosounders are instrumental in providing detection and accurate localization of weak to strong bubble plumes. Two survey profiles effectively insonified the bubble plumes rising from the main crater at the well site, providing snapshot data of bubble plume processes. Additionally, three profiles insonified bubble plumes rising from, in, and to the south of a secondary crater, 1.2 km southeast of the main crater. Data processing included a simple algorithm that muted mislocated echoes from incomplete sidelobe suppression. The data processing produced a Cartesian volume of echo intensity from the water column and seabed.Plume geometry was analyzed to investigate a number of important large-scale plume processes, including plume bubble detrainment due to currents and stratification, downwelling flows, sea surface interaction, plume heterogeneity, and other fluid transport processes. The data showed strong upwelling flows, with bubble vertical motions generally much faster than currents. One important finding was that megaplumes create intrusions above the general thermocline, in part because their extensive upwelling flow lifts the thermocline locally. As a result, the intrusion layer deposits dissolved gases in the upper wave-mixed layer of the water column where it is not isolated from the atmosphere, unlike dissolved gases in the lower water column.The analysis shows that high fidelity multibeam echosounder data can provide a wealth of remote sensing information on bubble plume characteristics and processes, with important applications, including blowout monitoring and response, better understanding of megaplumes such as used in lake destratification, and improved characterization of natural seep emission processes.     

顾及局部统计特征的均值滤波方法及其应用

针对Caris软件自动滤波结果中仍存在较多异常数据点、手工剔除需要耗费较长时间的问题,提出了一种基于局部统计特征的均值滤波方法。先利用局部统计特征剔除局部异常点,再结合均值滤波方法估计格网点水深值。实验结果表明,方法处理结果与手工编辑结果水深差值中误差仅为0.121 m,而处理时长极大缩短,对工作效率的提升很大。