January 2020
Sensor Theory –
Understanding the Hardware
HYPACK 2020 TRAINING EVENT
GPS and Positioning
2
GPS - Positioning
• GPS uses 24 satellites that
orbit the earth every 12 hours.
• A user needs to “see” 4
satellites to get a position fix,
but more is better.
• GPS works on the WGS84
datum and spheroid
• Dynamic GPS positioning
accuracy ranges from 10-20 m
to 0.05-0.02 m depending
upon method employed.
3
GPS – Determining Position
Determining GPS Position
The time of travel is used to compute
distance. This computes a Psuedo Range.
Three Psuedo Ranges should ideally cross at
the position of the GPS.
Based upon range the
position is somewhere
along the circle
4
GPS – Determining Position
In fact, four satellites are
required to determine the
unknown values.
X - Latitude
Y - Longitude
Z - Height
T - Time Based Error
5
GPS – Determining Position Geometry
The spread of
satellites determines
the quality of the
position.
Satellites too low on
the horizon can
provide errors as
well as satellites too
close together.
Elevation masking is
used to prevent
satellites low on the
horizon from causing
error in the position.
6
DGPS – Error Corrected Position
Error Assumptions
• Ionospheric and
Tropospheric effects
are the same at the
reference station
and user GPS
• Reference Station
and User GPS “see”
the same satellites
7
GPS Corrections
There are several methods to improve the GPS
location on the vessel. Satellite : DGPS – Sub Meter
Beacon : Beyond roughly 750 Km, a
DGPS is not likely to be any more
accurate than an uncorrected GPS
RTK: Base to Vessel range less than
20 Km, accuracy in cm
RTK Base Station
Differential Station
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RTK Tides in HYPACK
A GPS position as defined previously
requires four satellites and a receiver H D
With RTK GPS a tide station is not
required when surveying T’
K
To take advantage of an RTK GPS
requires the position and corrections which
then lead into a math problem A B CS N-K N
• HYPACK Tide Correction:
• T=N– K–A–H-D
• Chart Sounding:
• CS = B + D + T Bottom
• CS = B + N – K – A – H
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GPS – Timing with PPS
PPS Signal ZDA Message
The 1 Pulse Per Second (PPS) signal is used to identify the time of the ZDA
message from a GPS receiver.
The ZDA message to HYPACK cannot be sent more than 1 Hz to ensure that
the proper ZDA message is aligned with the PPS signal
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Vessel Motion
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Vessel Motion
A vessel experiences motion in all three directions.
Up
Fore and Aft motion is called Surge
Center of Gravity
Port and Starboard motion is called Sway
Vertical motion is called Heave Fore
Port
Starboard
Aft
Down
12
Vessel Motion
• Rotation around the X axis is the Pitch
• Pitch Bow Up is positive Yaw Z
• Rotation around the Y axis is the Roll Center of Gravity
• Roll to Starboard is positive
• Rotation around the Z axis is Yaw
• Yaw Clockwise is positive
Pitch
X
Roll
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Vessel Motion
Motion Reference Unit: Heave, Heave
Pitch, Roll and sometimes Heading
Center of Gravity
Inertial Navigation Unit: Heave,
Pitch, Roll, Heading and Position
Roll
Pitch
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Physics of Sound
Information in this section contains information from
the UK Hydrographic Office – SOPAC training
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Physics Of Sound – Sine Wave
In order to understand the characteristics and behavior of sound waves, it is
essential to understand Sine Curves
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Physics of Sound - Phase
The phase of the
signal is
especially
important in
interferometry
multi beam
sonars.
The Phase of the signal refers to the angle in relation to the
beginning of the sine wave.
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Physics of Sound – Frequency
Range vs
Frequency
Low Frequency
• Long Range
• More Penetration
• Less Definition
• Less
Waves/Second
High Frequency
• Shorter Range
• Less Penetration
• Higher Definition
• More
Waves/Second
Frequency of the signal is given as: f(hz) = 1/T
In this example f = 0.5 Hz
Hz is equal to the number of times in 1 second
18
Using Acoustics to measure distance
The frequency of the acoustic wave used to
measure the depth depends upon the type of
survey.
• Deep Water / Long Range surveys use Low
Frequencies
• Shallow Water / Short Range surveys use
High Frequencies
The Higher the frequency, the greater the
precision.
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Sound Interaction with Seabed
Direction of
Acoustic
Energy The acoustic energy’s
Energy
returned interaction with the seabed
to sonar has multiple components
Reflection that affect the energy
returned.
The geometry of the pulse
Angle of is important to the signal
Incidence returned.
Scattering
Absorption
20
Environmental Considerations
21
Environmental Characteristics
When using
acoustic
measurements the
speed of sound
affects the result.
Each of the items in
this image affect the
speed of sound.
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Sound Velocity Corrections
Sound Velocity
• Type in depth and sound speed data
• Import the profile from file
• Receive automatically from MVP.
• The profile is applied in survey for real time
QC.
SONTEK
CASTAWAY SV
Probe. Simplified
Bluetooth Upload.
HYSWEEP® Sound Velocity Editor
Squat and Settlement
Enter a table of draft adjustment vs. speed.
Draft lookup is based on speed over ground, which does not account for current
Understanding Signal Ray Tracing
By applying a Sound Velocity Profile
the sounding can be corrected
High Sound Velocity
Low Sound Velocity
Higher Sound Velocity
Lower Sound Velocity
True position and depth of the sounding
24
Speed of Sound – Incorrect Values
Using an incorrect
sound speed will result
in depth measurement
errors.
The error will increase
with range causing the
well known “frown” or
“smile” pattern in MBES
data.
25
Speed of Sound – Corrected Soundings
Correctly applying
the SV profile prior
to editing the data is
crucial in the
processing of MBES
data
12
26
Accuracy vs Precision
27
Precision and Accuracy
Precision Accuracy
• Measure of repeatability • Measure of reliability
• The quality of observations • How close is it to the ‘real’ answer
28
Normal Distribution
In surveying we
always quote to
95% confidence,
which is 2σ
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Single Beam Sonars
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Single Beam Echo Sounder
Measure travel time from the sonar to
the reflected Seabed.
The SBES can only take one HYPACK
measurement at a time, hence the
Single Beam.
The system typically “pings” several
times per second.
Speed of Sound * Time = Distance
Sound Pulses
Seabed
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SBES – Beam Characteristics
As beam width increases the footprint on the seabed
increases as well. The sounding is the strongest return within
that area
20’ 40’
3 degree 1.0 2.1
5 degree 1.7 3.5
8 degree 2.8 5.6
45 degree 14.1 28.3
Footprint Radius
Fish Finders use a wide angle to
“see” any fish nearby.
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SBES – Beam Characteristics
The width of the beam in a SBES can severely affect the
accuracy of a reported sounding.
Fish Finders use a
wide angle to “see”
any fish nearby.
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Single Beam Echogram data
Echogram Data: Used to display the acoustic data for each ping from network-capable
echo sounders. Acoustic ping data can be used to correct the detected bottom depth.
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SBES in HYPACK
Planning and conducting a survey in HYPACK starts and ends in the Shell
35
SBES in HYPACK
Using the SBMAX64 program, editing has never been easier
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Multi Beam Sonars
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Bathymetric Sonar Types
What is the difference between a beam former
and an interferometric MBES?
A Beam Forming System uses Amplitude
Detection similar to a single beam sonar for a
particular beam angle.
An Interferometric System uses Phase
Detection by finding the phase shift at two or
more elements of the receiver array.
In summary, beam formers measure range for
each of a set of angles, and interferometers
measure angle for each of a set of ranges.
Beam former detection is based on signal
amplitude & phase. Interferometer is a phase
differencing system.
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MBES Basic Principles
Measure the range at a
given angle to determine
the depth
39
Transmit and Receive Beams
The overlapping area of the Transmit
and Receive beams is considered
the Beam Footprint
40
Beam-Forming
Multiple transducer elements are used to create each beam
41
Ensonified Area or “Footprint” Size Differences
Footprint Size of 8.0 degree
is 6.99 feet in 50 foot deep
water
+ (1) 8.0 degree
(6.99’ or 2.13 m.)
(121)
(7) 1.5
(19) 3.0
0.5x1.0
degree
degreedegree
(1.3’
(2.6’
(0.44’
or
or 0.40
x0.79
0.87’
m.)
m.)or
0.14 m x 0.27 m)
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Beam-Forming – Across Track Resolution
Beam foot print increases in size as distance from Nadir increase
43
Interferometric Sonars
The elements of
the array are a
known physical T0 T1 T2 T3 T4
T4
distance apart
T3
T2
T1
Transmit pulse
T0 The returning acoustic energy
is received fractions of a
Time second apart, measured as
phase difference
T0
Speed of Received Signal
sound at the
sonar head is Peak Amplitude
required to
convert time to
distance
Seabed
With the known phase difference and the element spacing, the angle of
incidence can be computed to the object. The difference in phase changes
44 with distance from the sonar.
Ping DSP – Principle of Operation
3DSSTM MBES Engine Bathymetry Engine allows for:
1. Beams defined by user specified MBES settings;
NBeams, θBeam, θSector.
2. Identical beams with well-defined boundaries, uniform
weighting and no side lobes.
3. Equidistant, equiangle or equidistant + equiangle
beam distributions.
4. A wide range of MBES configurations (e.g. 1°, 512
beams) and including statistically independent (i.e.
non-overlapping) beam geometries.
5. Accurate bathymetry with full vertical coverage over
extremely wide swathes.
6. Bathymetry results that can be readily compared with
results from similarly configured Multi-beam systems.
MBES – Snippet Data
The “Snippet” data is
the analog signal before
and after the bottom
detection.
The data is stitched together into a line of
signal strength for mosaic.
46
Water Column Data
All of the return
data for every
beam is
displayed.
Logging Water Column data requires exponentially more hard
drive space than a normal MBES survey. Water Column data is the
equivalent of the Echogram in SBES.
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MBES in HYPACK
Multibeam Survey
Program
Collects and logs
multibeam and support
sensors.
Real time displays,
corrections and QC.
There are 15 windows to
choose from.
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MBES – Editing in HYSWEEP
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Side Scan Sonars
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What is found in a side scan record?
Shadow Water Column
How the sonar sees the object
• Water column provides information Features on the seafloor block
about towed fish height. the signal from the sonar,
• Target features off the seafloor will creating shadows.
produce a shadow.
• Bottom sediment signal will differ
based upon return angle of incident and
seabed absorption.
51
Sonar System Components
Transceiver
• The sonar’s transceiver receives the
signal and sends it to the acquisition
computer for display and storage.
• The echo distance is determined by
Bottom echo
time similar to other sonar systems.
• Note that sound velocity is needed
to convert travel time into distance.
- 1500 m/s is a reasonable default.
52
What Happens in the Nadir Region
• There is no « White
Area » under the fish.
• The secondary lobes
ensonify the nadir.
• However: The incidence
angle makes this area
not really useful.
Nadir Region
53
What you find with a Side Scan Record
Sidescan Signal T0 (Ping)
T2
T1 (First return)
T2 (range) Signal vs. Time
T1 T1
Time Time
T2 T0 T2
T1 T0 T1
T2 T2
54
Amplitude vs. Time Signal
Bottom track detects the first return
from the seafloor.
T0
T1
The signal is converted to an RGB
value and plotted in the waterfall.
The waterfall view is the signal
amplitude coded by color level.
55
The Importance of the Shadow
As the towfish gets closer to the seafloor,
the shadow size will increase.
Closer
Farther
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The Importance of the Shadow
When trying to identify a target, the
shadow can be more helpful than the
shape of the object.
57
Side Scan Survey Overview
A side scan sonar can be used for
a wide variety of survey
operations.
• Search and recovery
• Geological Identification
• Pre- and post-dredge surveys
• Target verification and location
• Useful tool for correlating and
verifying bathymetric data
58
Frequency determines effective range
Effective range and
imagery resolution is a
trade-off determined by the
operating frequency of the
side scan sonar.
The higher the frequency,
the shorter the range by
the higher the resolution.
The lower the frequency,
the longer the range but
the lower the resolution.
59
Searching with a 100 KHz sonar
Pipeline
shipwreck In this image a 100 KHz file
is processed. There are two
items of interest.
Return from a air /
gas discharge
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Side Scan Operations
Towed vs. hull-mounted (fixed) systems
Benefits Problems
• Sonar is close to the
bottom
• Position of towfish may
Towed • Minimal motion
not be known
Ideal for deep water
• Accurate position
Hull • Won’t hit bottom
• Unsuitable for deep water
• Vessel motion will show in
Mounted Ideal for shallow water
data
61
Towed vs Hull-mounted Side Scan
It is critical that a fish is towed close
to the seafloor, but fish position is
generally less accurate.
HYPACK
Hull-mounted systems with better
position are only suitable for shallow
water.
A side scan “towfish”
A hull-mounted side scan
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Sidescan in HYPACK
• Load raw side scan data – HSX, HS2, XTF, JSF, SDF, or CM2 files
• Adjust bottom tracking, smooth heading
• Create mosaic of the data
63
Magnetometers
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How a Marine Magnetometer works
How does the instrument work? According to WHOI….
Marine magnetometers can be scalar, measuring the total strength of the magnetic field; or vector,
resolving the magnetic field into the vectors of strength, inclination ( 0° at the equator and 90° at
magnetic poles) and declination (the angle the magnetic field makes with geographic north).
Marine magnetometers contain a chamber filled with a liquid rich in hydrogen atoms, like kerosene
or methanol. Electrons dissolved in the liquid are excited by a radio frequency (RF) power source
and pass on their energy to the hydrogen atoms’ nuclei (protons), altering their spin states. The
transfer of energy from electrons to the protons in the hydrogen atoms is called the “Overhauser
Effect” (after the American physicist Albert Overhauser who discovered it in the early 1950s) and
the magnetometers that use the effect are called “Overhauser Magnetometers.”
Once the protons are spinning, the RF power is removed, and the protons spiral back to their
original alignment with the total geomagnetic field. The frequency of their spiraling, or
“precession,” is measured with a coil, and is dependent on a known constant, the “gyromagnetic
ratio,” and the total geomagnetic field. Thus, if the frequency is measured, and the constant is
known, the total geomagnetic field can be calculated.
http://www.whoi.edu/page.do?pid=8415&tid=7342&cid=14847
65
Magnetometer Survey Concerns
It is important to
understand how the range
to the object affects the
expected gamma reading.
When searching for a
known object, target
interrogation begins with
an understanding of the
expected gamma.
0M 15M 20M 30M 50M
Offset 0M 7.5 M 10 M 15 M 25 M
Gamma 277.78 67.72 37.38 14.23 3.53
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Variables that Affect a Magnetometer Survey
International
Geomagnetic
Reference Field
(IGRF)
A standard
mathematical
description of the
Earth's main
magnetic field and its
secular variation.
This is the magnetic
field generated by the
Earth’s inner core.
Geomagnetic Storms
Everyday the earth
is bombarded with
magnetic impulses
from the sun.
These magnetic
storms affect the
gamma readings of
the magnetometer.
The intensity and
duration of a
Geomagnetic Storm
can range from
seconds to hours.
Magnetometer Survey Planning
Magnetic intensity prediction graph for
pure iron. ( Source: Breiner 1999b:9)
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Monitoring Background
The INTERMAGNET organization is a group that monitors the changes in the
magnetic readings due to outside interference. The Diurnal changes in the
gamma reading are recorded at a site with a known gamma signature. This
recording is available for download. The recorded variations can be used with
the HYPACK recorded files to clean the interference out of the survey.
Magnetometer Data in HYPACK
The display shows the gamma readings at two
scales simultaneously or individually.
10 nT 100 nT
This allows for a target that jumps off the total
visible scale of the lower scale ( blue ) graph to
be monitored by the larger scale ( red ) graph.
Magnetometer in HYPACK
The MAGEDIT program allows the
user to apply IGRF or Shore based
corrections.
Targets are stored in the Target
Database.
72
Sub-Bottom Profilers
73
Introduction to Sub-Bottom Profiling
• SBP systems are single-channel instruments used for shallow
reflection seismic profiling.
• SBP’s operate at different transmit frequencies.
• The interpreted data from these SBP systems includes the
thickness and qualitative sediment characteristics.
• Uses:
• Engineering and geotechnical site surveys
• Renewable energy surveys
• Dredging studies
• Mineral exploration
• Habitat mapping projects
74
Principles of Sub-Bottom Profiling
• Divided into two types:
• Energy source and receiver combined as in a transducer, or
• Separate sound source & receiver (hydrophone array)
• Sound energy transmitted into the water is reflected from the
seabed and the sub-surface sediment layers.
• The reflected energy intensity depends on the different densities
of the sediments.
75
Types of Sub-Bottom Profilers
Acoustic characteristics of commonly used sub-bottom profiling systems. The
depth of penetration is related to the frequency, source energy & nature of the
seabed geology.
OPERATING SOURCE & RECEIVE TYPICAL TYPICAL DEPTH OF MOUNT
SYSTEM
FREQUENCY ARRAY RESOLUTION PENETRATION CONFIGURATION
Swept frequency Vessel mounted or
Chirp 2 - 16 kHz 0.05 – 0.1 m 5 – 50 m
transducer sub-towed
Vessel mounted or
Parametric SBP 2 - 22 kHz Parametric transducer 0.05 – 0.1 m 5 – 30 m
sub-towed
Combined piezo-
Vessel mounted or
Pinger 2 - 12 kHz transducer/ 0.2 m 10 – 50 m
sub-towed
transceiver
Bubble Pulser 0.4 kHz Plate & towed array 0.3 - .0.5 m 20 – 100 m Surface catamaran
Boomer 0.3 - 6 kHz Plate & towed array 0.2 - 0.5 m 20 – 150 m Surface catamaran
Spark electrodes & Surface catamaran or
Sparker 0.2 – 3 kHz 0.3 – 1 m 30 – 750 m
towed array sub-towed
Mini-Airgun 0.1 – 3 kHz Airgun & towed array 0.5 – 1 m 30 – 200 m Towed
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Installation & Towing Configuration Recommendations
• Mounting a sub-bottom profiler and towing the source & hydrophone array
correctly are critical to acquiring a noise-free dataset.
• In vessel mounted systems, it is important that the transducers are mounted
away from areas of potential noise or turbulence.
• With a surface towed systems, it is a good idea to have the source and the
receive array separated by the aerated propeller wash.
77
Sub Bottom in HYPACK
In SURVEY the
sub-bottom profiling
data is viewed in
the Scrolling Data
Window.
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January 2020
Contact Us:
[email protected]
(860) 635 - 1500
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