Application of high-resolution geophysical methods in submarine pipeline inspection

Abstract

High-resolution marine geophysical equipment employed includes single beam echo sounder (SBES), multi-beam echo sounder (MBES), sub-bottom profiler (SBP) and side scan sonar (SSS). By employing SBES, the reflection curve in shallow water reveals the real condition of pipeline; while in deep water, the reflection or diffraction curve can’t reveal the real condition. Compared with SBES, MBES is characterised by intuition, efficiency and high resolution. But the same as SBES, the beam angle affects its detecting ability seriously. As for the SBP, system employing Chirp technology can detect the buried conditions of pipelines. Ship speed and water depth can affect the detection. The SSS can detect the plane position, exposed height, spanning state and pipeline trench, but buried pipelines. In order to understand the whole in-situ conditions of submarine pipeline, multiple geophysical methods should be employed.