Abstract
The modern discrimination of sediment is based on acoustic intensity (backscatter) information from high-resolution multibeam echo-sounder systems (MBES). The backscattering intensity, varying with the angle of incidence, reveals the characteristics of seabed sediment. In this study, we propose a novel unsupervised acoustic sediment classification method based on the K-medoids algorithm using multibeam backscattering intensity data. In this method, we use the Lurton parameters model, which is the relationship between the backscattering intensity and incidence, to obtain the backscattering angle corresponding curve, and we use the genetic algorithm to fit the curve by the least-squares method. After extracting the four relevant parameters of the model when the ideal fitting effect was achieved, we input the characteristic parameters obtained from the fitting to the K-medoids clustering model. To validate the proposed classification method, we compare it with the self-organizing map (SOM) neural network classification method under the same parameter settings. The results of the experiment show that when the seabed sediment category is less than or equal to 3, the results of the K-medoids algorithm and the SOM neural network are approximately identical. As the sediment category increases, the SOM neural network shows instability, and it is impossible to see the clear boundaries of the seabed sediment, while the K-medoids category is 5 and the seabed sediment classification is correct. After comparing with field in situ seabed sediment sampling along the MBES survey line, the sediment classification method based on K-medoids is consistent with the distribution of the field sediment sampling. The classification accuracies for bedrock, sandy clay, and silty sand are all above 90%; those for gravel and clay are nearly 80%, and the overall accuracy reaches 89.7%.
Highlights
Seabed detection and sediment classification have important practical significance for marine engineering construction, seafloor map, biological habitat environment inversion, and seabed resource exploration [1,2,3]
Considering the similarity of the sediment types, clay is the main component of sandy clay, and sand is the main component of silty sand
We proposed a novel unsupervised acoustic sediment classification method based on the K-medoids algorithm using multibeam backscattering intensity data
Summary
Seabed detection and sediment classification have important practical significance for marine engineering construction, seafloor map, biological habitat environment inversion, and seabed resource exploration [1,2,3] As they are the basis of seabed research, they are important for understanding seabed sediment properties in detail [4]. Traditional seafloor sediment classification usually uses field sediment sampling and discrete field sampling according to a certain grid and confirms the type of sediment after laboratory analysis This method can be used to directly assess the sediment category, it has disadvantages such as high labor intensity, low efficiency, high operating costs, and it is difficult to achieve high-precision surveys in a large area [5]. How to quickly and accurately obtain large-area sediment information is the research focus of oceanographers
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