Modern Methods and Equipment for Hydroacoustic High- Precision Surveys of the Sea Bottom

Abstract

Summary The effectiveness of modern methods of hydroacoustics in the survey works of marine geology, can be significantly increased in construction of equipment on the principles of phase processing and using of complex broadband signals. We have developed modifications of side-scan sonars, which can significantly increase the information content, increase the resolution and improve the accuracy of the coordinates. One of them is the sidescan interferometric sonar. Additional receiving channels with additional receiving arrays in the vertical plane are included in the side-scan sonar to measure the bottom relief. These receiving channels allow you to get an additional parameter – the angle of arrival of the echo signal, which calculates the depth and horizontal range. The side-scan interferometric sonar is rightfully a competitor of a multi-beam echo sounder with a much larger field of view. Another development is the wideband side-scan sonar. The use of broadband technologies has made it possible to obtain a qualitatively new instrument for the study of the bottom of the world ocean with high resolution. Due to the construction of equipment on the principles of using complex ultra-wideband signals (such as frequency modulated or chaotic), the efficiency of modern hydroacoustic methods in the survey works are increases.