Mapping acoustic echosounder data to human color vision.

Abstract

A colormapping algorithm was developed and applied to echosounder data from the seafloor. The technique offers a simple method of conveying subtle information about the seabed that might be useful in sediment classification. Features with different spectral content appear in a processed image with different shades of color. Broadband scatterers, such as rigid objects or interface roughness emerge as white or gray features, while narrow-band scatterers, such as trapped gas bubbles appear with a hue corresponding to their resonance frequency. The method has the potential to resolve the ambiguity between rigid and gassy sediments, which are indistinguishable in a grayscale display. A description of the colormapping algorithm, followed by a presentation of the results of its application to echosounder data and a discussion of their interpretation is given. [Work supported by NRL.]