Abstract
Acoustic backscatter images of the seafloor obtained with sidescan sonar systems are displayed most often using a flat bottom assumption. Whenever this assumption is not valid, pixels are mapped incorrectly in the image frame, yielding distorted representations of the seafloor. Here, such distortions are corrected by using an appropriate representation of the relief, as measured by the sonar that collected the acoustic backscatter information. In addition, all spatial filtering operations required in the pixel relocation process take the sonar geometry into account. Examples of the process are provided by data collected in the Northeastern Pacific over Fieberling Guyot with the SeaMARC II bathymetric sidescan sonar system and the Sea Beam multibeam echo-sounder. The nearly complete (90%) Sea Beam bathymetry coverage of the Guyot serves as a reference to quantify the distortions found in the backscatter images and to evaluate the accuracy of the corrections performed with SeaMARC II bathymetry. As a byproduct, the processed SeaMARC II bathymetry and the Sea Beam bathymetry adapted to the SeaMARC II sonar geometry exhibit a 35m mean-square difference over the entire area surveyed.
Similar content being viewed by others
References
Blackinton, J. G., 1986, Bathymetric Mapping with SeaMARC II: An Elevation Angle Measuring Side-Scan Sonar System, Ph.D. dissertation, Hawaii Inst. of Geophys., Univ. of Hawaii, Manoa, 1986.
Carsola, A. J. and Dietz, R. S., 1951, Submarine Geology of Two Flat-Topped Northeast Pacific Seamounts,American Journal of Science 250 481–497.
Cervenka, P. and de Moustier, C., Post-Processing and Corrections of Bathymetry derived from Sidescan Sonar Systems. Application with SeaMARC II,IEEE J. Oceanic Eng. (submitted).
Cervenka, P. and de Moustier, C., 1993, Sidescan Sonar Image Processing Techniques,IEEE J. Oceanic Eng. 18, 108–122.
Hamming, R. W., 1973, Numerical Methods for Scientists and Engineers, chap. 25 to 29, Dover Publications, NY.
Lau, T. K. A. and Fox, C. G., 1991, A Technique for Combining SeaMARC I Sidescan Sonar and Gridded Bathymetry Data to Display Undistorted Seafloor Images,Proc. IEEE Oceans '91 2 1140–1145.
Lonsdale, P. F., 1991, Structural Patterns of the Pacific Floor Offshore of Peninsular California,AAPG Memoir 47 87–125.
Mitchell, N. C., 1991, Improving Gloria Images using Sea Beam Data,J. Geophys. Res. 96, 337–351.
de Moustier, C., 1993, Signal Processing for Swath Bathymetry and Concurrent Seafloor Acoustic Imaging, In:Acoustic Signal processing for Ocean Exploration, J. M. F. Moura and I. M. G. Lourtie (Eds.), Kluwer Academic Publishers, 329–354.
de Moustier, C., Lonsdale, P. F. and Shor, A. N., 1990, Simultaneous Operation of the Sea Beam Multibeam Echo-Sounder and the SeaMARC II Bathymetric Sidescan Sonar System,IEEE J. Oceanic Eng. 15, 84–94.
de Moustier, C., Masnadi-Shirazi, M. A., and Cervenka, P., 1991, Integrated Processing for Bathymetry and Sidescan Data in Swath Bathymetry Sidelooking Sonars, EOS,Trans. Am. Geophys. Union 72, 249–250.
Hammerstad, E., Pohner, F., Parthiot, F., and Bennett, J., 1991, Field Testing of a New Deep Water Multibeam Echo-Sounder,Proc. IEEE Oceans '91 2 743–749.
Reed, T. B. and Hussong, D. M., 1989, Digital Image Processing Techniques for Enhancement and Classification of Sea-MARC II Sidescan Sonar Imagery,J. Geophys. Res. 94, 7469–7490.
Renard, V. and Allenou, J. P., 1979, Sea Beam Multibeam Echo-Sounding in ‘Jean Charcot’: Description, Evaluation and First Results,Int. Hydrog. Rev. LVI(1), 35–67.
Sternlicht, D., 1992, Correcting the Layover Problem: Preprocessing Rectifications for Sidescan Sonar Images, Masters thesis, Univ. Hawaii, Manoa.
Stewart, W. K., 1988, Multisensor Modeling Underwater with Uncertain Information, Ph.D. dissertation, MIT-WHOI.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Additional information
On leave at the Naval Research Laboratory, Code 7420, Washington D.C. 20375-5350.
Rights and permissions
About this article
Cite this article
Cervenka, P., De Moustier, C. & Lonsdale, P.F. Geometric corrections on sidescan sonar images based on bathymetry. Application with SeaMARC II and Sea Beam data. Mar Geophys Res 16, 365–383 (1994). https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01203973
Received:
Accepted:
Issue Date:
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/BF01203973