Basic Multibeam Survey
Principles
PAGE 1
SONAR - SOund NAvigation and Ranging
• Developed in World War II to detect submarines. Two types: passive and active
• An active sonar generates a short pulse of sound, known as a “ping” and then
‘listens’ for returned energy (either the sea floor or a target in the water column).
This return is presented to an operator either aurally or on a visual display (or both)
• The time between the transmission (ping) and the returned energy is measured,
and by knowing the velocity at which the pulse travels through the water, a range to
target may be calculated
• If it takes 10 seconds between transmitting and receiving the return echo, with a
sound velocity of 1500m per second then the following equation may be used:
• Types of active sonar
1) Single beam echosounder
2) Sidescan Sonar velocity time 1500 10
Range 7500m
3) Multibeam echosounder 2 2
• Passive sonar simply listens
PAGE 2
Multibeam Echosounders - Background
• Originated 1950s, developed from 1970s (US Navy)
• Map swathes of seafloor for submarine navigation
• Now widely used for hydrographic charting
• Seabed profiles recorded perpendicular to vessel direction as vessel
moves forward
• Benefits
– Provides high resolution depth information
– Enables full seafloor search capability
– Wide coverage possible (as a function of depth)
– Good target definition achievable
– Seabed backscatter for geological seabed characterization
– An all-in-one survey tool under certain circumstances
PAGE 3
Multibeam Survey Sensors
• Multibeam Echosounder
• Positioning System (GNSS)
• Accurate Time Source (GNSS)
• Precision Heading Sensor
• Precision Motion Sensor (Pitch, Roll, Heave)
• Water Column Sound Velocity Probe
• Surface Sound Velocity Probe
• Tide Gauge
• Data Acquisition Computer & Software
PAGE 4
Multibeam Sonar Transducers
• Projector and Receiver Arrays
• Arranged in ‘T’ shape (Mills Cross) Projector Array
• 30cm to 8m in length
• 455kHz – 12kHz Frequency
• Arrays of Piezo-Ceramic Elements
• Underwater Cable Connectors
Receiver Array
Projector Array
Receiver
Array
Direction of Travel
Piezo-Ceramic Elements
PAGE 5
Transducer Installation
• Hull Mount / Pole Mount / Moonpool Mount
• Aim For:
– Maximum rigidity
– Smoothest flow of water
– Minimal bubble flow
PAGE 6
Operation & Data Acquisition
• Survey Station
– At least 3 monitors
1. Sonar Operation & Control
2. Data Acquisition Software (PDS2000)
3 1 2
3. Helmsman (Line Steering)
• Sonar Processor Example Survey Station
– Operator Interface for Control
– Beam-Forming
– Sonar Data Display and Output
– Sonar Data Recording
Sonar Processor
Example Sonar Rack
PAGE 7
The Sonar Wedge – Operation & Control
PAGE 8
The Sonar Wedge
• Shows both the magnitude (intensity) of acoustic return throughout the entire water
column and the bottom detection points: brightness is proportional to signal
strength
• Typically the bottom detection points will follow the trend of the brightest return
PAGE 9
Typical Beam-Forming Modes
• Equi- Angle (EA) Beam-Forming
– The classic mode
– Typically up to 256 beams (0.5° nadir)
– Variable Sounding Density
• Equi- Distant (ED) Beam-Forming
– 512 beams uniform density (0.5°)
– More hits per target
– Only suitable option for uniform data density
• Any number of beams can be formed
• Only limitation is processing power
• Allows advanced Beam Forming Modes:
– Flex Mode
– Wide Mode
PAGE 10
Flex / Wide Modes
• Flex Mode
– Combined ED / EA
– High & low density sectors
– Pipeline Survey
• Wide Mode
– Vertical Structures
Flex Mode for pipeline inspection
Wide Mode for quay wall inspection
PAGE 11
Data Acquisition Display
PAGE 12
A Data Acquisition Example Display
PAGE 13
Multibeam Geometry & Terminology
• Water Depth (d)
• Swath Angle ()
• Slant Range (SR)
• Swath Width (SW)
• Across-track Beam Width
• Along-track Beam Width
• Across-track Footprint Size
• Along-track Footprint Size
PAGE 14
Survey Coverage
• Across-track Coverage
– Swath coverage is a function of swath angle and depth
– e.g. 128 degrees swath angle provides 4x water depth in coverage
– Overlap is required to ensure full sea floor search
• Along-track Coverage
– Ping Rate = Number of pings per second (up to 50); 1 ping = up to 512 beams
– Ping Rate is typically defined by the range setting selected by the operator
– The sonar waits until previous ping is complete before the next takes place
75m 2 150 m
0.1 10 p / s
1500 m / s 1500 m / s
PAGE 15
Multibeam Acoustic Properties
• Sound Velocity in water varies with:
– Salinity (Conductivity)
– Temperature
– Pressure (Depth)
• Changes in these cause refraction which must be modelled
• Transmission loss caused by:
– Attenuation
• Absorption (db/km)
• (frequency dependent)
• Scattering
– Spreading (log db)
• Time Varied Gain (TVG)
• Noise (flow, cavitations, mechanical, electrical)
PAGE 16
Data Examples – 3D Point Cloud
PAGE 17
Hydrographic Deliverables
• Uncleaned Soundings File
• Processed Soundings File (e.g. ASCII XYZ)
• Colour-Coded / Contoured Bathymetry Chart
• Backscatter Mosaic
• Obstacle / Target Listing
• Seabed Classification Chart
• Volume Reports (Dredging)
• Quality Information (Total Propagated Error)
PAGE 18
Basic Multibeam Survey
Principles
PAGE 19