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Control of the repeatability of high frequency multibeam echosounder backscatter by using natural reference areas

Control of the repeatability of high frequency multibeam echosounder backscatter by using natural reference areas
Control of the repeatability of high frequency multibeam echosounder backscatter by using natural reference areas
The increased use of backscatter measurements in time series for environmental monitoring necessitates the comparability of individual results. With the current lack of pre-calibrated multibeam echosounder systems for absolute backscatter measurement, a pragmatic solution is the use of natural reference areas for ensuring regular assessment of the backscatter measurement repeatability. This method mainly relies on the assumption of a sufficiently stable reference area regarding its backscatter signature. The aptitude of a natural area to provide a stable and uniform backscatter response must be carefully considered and demonstrated by a sufficiently long time-series of measurements. Furthermore, this approach requires a strict control of the acquisition and processing parameters. If all these conditions are met, stability check and relative calibration of a system are possible by comparison with the averaged backscatter values for the area. Based on a common multibeam echosounder and sampling campaign completed by available bathymetric and backscatter time series, the suitability as a backscatter reference area of three different candidates was evaluated. Two among them, Carré Renard and Kwinte, prove to be excellent choices, while the third one, Western Solent, lacks sufficient data over time, but remains a valuable candidate. The case studies and the available backscatter data on these areas prove the applicability of this method. The expansion of the number of commonly used reference areas and the growth of the number of multibeam echosounder controlled thereon could greatly contribute to the further development of quantitative applications based on multibeam echosounder backscatter measurements.
0025-3235
Roche, Marc
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Degrendele, Koen
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Vrignaud, Christophe
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Loyer, Sophie
faee3884-7e1c-4b8c-a28d-88926ae7f0ad
Le Bas, Tim
5880f375-bbf2-4f20-8618-7f344aa76f7f
Augustin, Jean-marie
ac89ca61-627e-41eb-a224-ffec97d7ebc0
Lurton, Xavier
ae4ac346-8b4a-48ad-a107-21aa4f235dfc
Roche, Marc
b0297403-a608-4cf5-874a-ef252d7a04cb
Degrendele, Koen
3c4f20e7-9b71-4a12-acf1-a4b98f7300e0
Vrignaud, Christophe
f8f384f9-af7c-4624-aa87-ac3e338ab710
Loyer, Sophie
faee3884-7e1c-4b8c-a28d-88926ae7f0ad
Le Bas, Tim
5880f375-bbf2-4f20-8618-7f344aa76f7f
Augustin, Jean-marie
ac89ca61-627e-41eb-a224-ffec97d7ebc0
Lurton, Xavier
ae4ac346-8b4a-48ad-a107-21aa4f235dfc

Roche, Marc, Degrendele, Koen, Vrignaud, Christophe, Loyer, Sophie, Le Bas, Tim, Augustin, Jean-marie and Lurton, Xavier (2018) Control of the repeatability of high frequency multibeam echosounder backscatter by using natural reference areas. Marine Geophysical Researches. (doi:10.1007/s11001-018-9343-x).

Record type: Article

Abstract

The increased use of backscatter measurements in time series for environmental monitoring necessitates the comparability of individual results. With the current lack of pre-calibrated multibeam echosounder systems for absolute backscatter measurement, a pragmatic solution is the use of natural reference areas for ensuring regular assessment of the backscatter measurement repeatability. This method mainly relies on the assumption of a sufficiently stable reference area regarding its backscatter signature. The aptitude of a natural area to provide a stable and uniform backscatter response must be carefully considered and demonstrated by a sufficiently long time-series of measurements. Furthermore, this approach requires a strict control of the acquisition and processing parameters. If all these conditions are met, stability check and relative calibration of a system are possible by comparison with the averaged backscatter values for the area. Based on a common multibeam echosounder and sampling campaign completed by available bathymetric and backscatter time series, the suitability as a backscatter reference area of three different candidates was evaluated. Two among them, Carré Renard and Kwinte, prove to be excellent choices, while the third one, Western Solent, lacks sufficient data over time, but remains a valuable candidate. The case studies and the available backscatter data on these areas prove the applicability of this method. The expansion of the number of commonly used reference areas and the growth of the number of multibeam echosounder controlled thereon could greatly contribute to the further development of quantitative applications based on multibeam echosounder backscatter measurements.

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Accepted/In Press date: 13 January 2018
e-pub ahead of print date: 23 January 2018

Identifiers

Local EPrints ID: 417691
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/417691
ISSN: 0025-3235
PURE UUID: 74458bd5-a4ab-431e-b517-2c9c1e4507cf

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Date deposited: 12 Feb 2018 17:30
Last modified: 15 Mar 2024 18:23

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Contributors

Author: Marc Roche
Author: Koen Degrendele
Author: Christophe Vrignaud
Author: Sophie Loyer
Author: Tim Le Bas
Author: Jean-marie Augustin
Author: Xavier Lurton

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