Sea-floor-mounted rotating side-scan sonar for making time-lapse sonographs

Continental Shelf Research
By: , and 

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Abstract

A rotating side-scan sonar system was designed to make time-lapse sonographs of a circular area of the sea floor. To construct the system, the transducers of a commercial side-scan system (frequency 105 kHz; pulse length 0.1 ms; horizontal beam width 1°; vertical beam width 20°; beam depressed 10° with respect to horizontal) were mounted 2 m above the sea floor on a vertical shaft that had a rotation speed of 0.5 rpm.

 

The radially collected sonar images are recorded linearly on a standard side-scan recorder. To convert the linear record to a radial record, the original moving record is photographed through a slit by a rotating camera, exposing a circular image on film.

 

Records that are collected with this system offer several advantages over records that are collected with towed systems. Bottom features are presented in nearly true plan geometry, and transducer yaw, pitch, and roll are eliminated. Most importantly, repeated observations can be made from a single point, and bedform movements of <50 cm can be measured. In quiet seas the maximum useful range of the system varies from 30 m (for mapping ripples) to 200 m (for mapping 10-m wavelength sand waves) to 450 m or more (for mapping gravel patches).

Publication type Article
Publication Subtype Journal Article
Title Sea-floor-mounted rotating side-scan sonar for making time-lapse sonographs
Series title Continental Shelf Research
DOI 10.1016/0278-4343(83)90029-8
Volume 1
Issue 3
Year Published 1983
Language English
Publisher Elsevier
Contributing office(s) Coastal and Marine Geology Program
Description 7 p.
First page 295
Last page 301
Online Only (Y/N) N
Additional Online Files (Y/N) N
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