Fine Scale Mapping near the Deep Sea Floor.
Abstract
Over a period of fifteen years our group in the Marine Physical Laboratory has developed a system for mapping various quantities associated with the deep floor, and has used it extensively in both the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. The basic concept is to use instruments towed close to the sea floor, thus allowing fine spatial resolution of the parameters. Position determination is achieved by use of acoustic transponders and related computational procedures which can yield accuracy of the order of a few meters. The present instrument suite includes routine use of precision echo sounder, 4 kHz bottom penetration sounder, side-looking sonar, proton magnetometer, photography, television, and temperature instrumentation. All of the subsystems are powered and controlled from the ship, using the coaxial electrical core to the towing cable. A major recent advance has been the move toward quantitative use of the sonar systems. The 4 kHz unit produces actual acoustic reflectivity information, giving the added capability in some circumstances of calculating sound absorption as well. Most recently the side-looking sonar has been adapted to produce quantitative measurements of backscattered energy. (Author)
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Jan 01, 1976
- Accession Number
- ADA039080
Entities
People
- C. D. Lowenstein
- D. E. Boegeman
- F. N. Spiess
- J. D. Mudie
Organizations
- Scripps Institution of Oceanography