A MORE ACCURATE HYDROGRAPHIC SURVEY

BY D IR E C T M EASUREM ENT O F SOUND V ELO C ITY IN T H E SEA

by A. U lonska

F ed eral R epublic of G erm any

This p a p e r w a s p r e s e n te d on 7 S e p te m b e r 1971 in W ie s b a d e n at the

X H I th In tern a tio n a l C ongress of S u r v e y o r s (F.I.G .).

INTRODUCTION

T he safe nav igation of a ship depends p rim a rily on the re lia b ility of
the c h a rts used. A c h a rt should, am ong o th e r things, give a m ost ac cu ra te
p ictu re of th e sea bed co n fig u ratio n , so th a t a n y steep o r sm ooth risin g or
sloping of th e sea bed, i.e., the re su ltin g shoals, can be id en tified w ith o u t
difficulty. It is th e ta sk of h y d ro g rap h ic surv ey in g to c o n d u c t th e so undings
req u ired . T h e objective of th is p ap e r is to d iscuss the p roblem s of ac cu ra te
so u n d in g a n d to re p o rt on a new m ethod w hich p e rm its o b tain in g a c cu ra te
values.
T h ere a re d ifferent m ethods of d e te rm in in g ocean d e p th s: d irec t and
in d irec t ones. I include am ong th e d irect m eth o d s all th o se in th e course
of w hich a w eight, a sounding lead, secured to a w ire o r a line is low ered
fro m th e vessel to th e bottom of th e sea. F ro m the respective m a rk s on
these lines or the m eterin g w heels on th e d ru m s of th e line w in ch es the
d ep th can be established. H and leads a n d so u n d in g m ach in es belong to
th is category. T he echo so u n d er belongs to th e categ o ry of in d ire c t m ethods.
W ith th e echo sounder, th e tim e re q u ire d for th e so u n d to trav el from
the ship to th e sea bed and back to the sh ip is re g istered and in d icated as
depth.
N ow adays, th e d irect m ethod is not likely to be used any longer because
it tak es too m u ch tim e and, a fte r all, does not yield a c c u ra te values. L et
me ju s t m en tio n the term of line angle. So, the echo s o u n d e r h a s fo r m any
y ears now v irtu a lly been the only m eth o d used. C om pared w ith o th er
m ethods, its g reat ad v antage is th a t so undings can be ta k e n w hile th e ship
is u n d e r w ay.
 A m o dern echo so u n d er w o rk s by m eans of u ltra sound. The sequence
of so u n d in g s is so fa s t th a t co n tin u o u s lines a p p e ar on the echogram th u s
sh o w in g the p ro file of th e sea bed covered by th e ship. B ut even w ith
the m o st m o d ern echo so u n d ers it is n o t possible to reg ister the a c cu ra te
ab so lu te d epth for, from th e tech n ical p o in t of view, an echo so u n d er is
a sh o rt-tim e probe, a sh o rt-tim e ch ro n o m e ter w ith plotter.
T he m a th em atic fu n c tio n accord ing to w hich an echo so u n d er w o rk s
ca n be seen fro m th e follow ing e x p la n a tio n :
T h e p ath of the sty lu s on th e p ap er tap e— the echogram — has to be
c o rre la te d to the p a th of th e sound betw een the ship an d the bottom of the
sea. F o r b etter u n d e rsta n d in g let m e add th a t all echo sounders w o rk by
m ean s of sh o rt so u n d pulses.

THE ECHO SOUNDER

T h e m ethod of m easu rin g d e p th s by m eans of the echo so u n d er

co m p rises two processes : th e process on th e p ap er tap e : D istance zero-line
— d ep th -lin e according to th e fo rm u la :
l = V -t (1 )
w h e re :
I = len g th betw een pulse em ission (zero-line) and pulse reception
(depth-line) on the so u n d in g tap e;
V = velocity of th e sty lu s;
t = trav el tim e of th e sty lu s;
a n d th e process in the w a te r:
v't
A =— (2)

w h e re:
A = d istan ce to th e bottom o f th e sea;
v = sound velocity in the w a te r;
t = trav el tim e of th e so u n d (vessel —» sea bed —» vessel).
B oth t are equal, for th e d istan ce to th e sea bed or the d ep th u n d er
th e ship should be a fu n c tio n of th e in d icatio n s of the echo sounder.
By in se rtin g t fro m (2) t = 2 h / v in (1) I = V • t, the fo rm u la for
the echo so u n d er

A - 2V
/ = -------------
v

is o b tain ed in a general form

I = rtf (A) ■
7 ) in clu d es both the velocity of the sty lu s and of sound pulses in the w ater.

T h e so u n d velocity in sea w a te r is a n a tu ra l phenom enon and is dependent

on the te m p e ra tu re , the salin ity , a n d the d en sity of seaw ater. It ca n n o t
be ch anged, it can only be m easured.
In o rd e r to ob tain an exact in d ic a tio n of the d ep th on the sounding
tap e, th e sty lu s velocity has to be ad a p te d in su ch a w a y th a t the co rrect
d ep th s are re g istered on the echogram . T hese echo so u n d er co n d itio n s
a re show n in fig. 1 .

F ig . 1. — P rin c ip le o f th e echo s o u n d e r.

THE METHODS OF CORRECTING DEPTH DATA

T he ev a lu a tio n of echogram s can be m ade by v a rio u s m e th o d s: One

of these is to a d ju s t th e echo so u n d er to the sound velocity of 1500 m /s ,
w hich is in te rn a tio n a lly know n, and to reduce, la te r on, the m easu red
d ep th s by m ean s of Tables. (B est k now n are th e T ables b y D .J. M atthew s).
A n o th er m eth o d w ould be to reduce, d u rin g so u n d in g o p eratio n s, the
echo s o u n d e r values to the values of a b a th y th e rm o g ra p h . B oth these
m eth o d s are very com plicated an d inexact. The M atthew s Tables are only
of use u n d e r c e rtain conditions, because the areas covered are too large.
B ath y th erm o g ra p h m easu rem en ts, however, tak e too m uch tim e an d
do n o t in d icate directly the value of the sound velocity w hich has firs t
to be calculated from th e respective form ulae. It is therefore p referab le
to calib rate the echo sounder d u rin g the survey, i.e., by direct a d ju stm e n t
of th e exact sound velocity.
A m ethod w hich is used very often is to low er a plate or an iro n
b a r secured to m ark e d lines. W ith th is m ethod, th e calib ratio n -p late (or
b ar) is left a t c e rta in depths u n d e r the vessel w hile at the echo so u n d er
the sound velocity is a d ju ste d so th a t the so u n d er registers the co rrect
k n o w n d ep th of th e plate, or bar, u n d e r the vessel. T his is a very sim ple
m eth o d w hich also yields good re su lts. B ut it h as one big d ra w b ack : it is
n o t su itable for depths exceeding 15 m etres. F or, at greater depths, a
p la te or a b a r ca n n o t be k ep t in a p erp en d icu lar position u n d er the vessel
as, d u e to c u rre n ts in the open sea, it will d rift an d then be at a different
d e p th th a n indicated by the line m a rk s ; som etim es it m ight even d rift out
o f th e sea area covered by the so u n d in g beam.
The safest m ethod, how ever, an d the sim plest at th at, is to m easu re
th e a c tu a l sound velocity in the survey area and to feed the d ata for sound
velocity into the sounder d u rin g th e survey operations.
Before going into the p a rtic u la rs of th is procedure, I w an t to explain
th e prin cip le of sound velocity m easu rem en t. As I have already given a
com prehensive descrip tio n in m y p a p e r read on 7 Septem ber 1968 in
L o ndon, a sh o rt re cap itu latio n w ill now do.
Of all sound velocity m eters, th e sim plest, and econom ically the m ost
a p p ro p ria te are those w h ich w o rk according to the feedback m ethod or
“s in g -a ro u n d ”.

THE “SING-AROUND” SOUND VELOCITY METER

L et us look a t fig. 2. The tra n sm itte r-tra n sd u c e r receives an electric

p u lse from the g en erato r an d converts it in its cry sta l lattice into a so u n d
pu lse. T his sound pulse travels th ro u g h an exactly defined p ath length
(base) w ith in th e w a te r and, a fte r a c e rtain tim e, reaches the receiver-
tra n s d u c e r, in th e crystal lattice of w hich the sound pulse is reconverted
in to an electric pulse. A fter am plification, the g en erato r will be “trig g e re d ”
by th is electric pulse and th u s caused to give a new electric pulse to the
tra n s m itte r-tra n sd u c e r.
T h u s a freq u en cy is created, th e height of w hich— w ith co n stan t
co n d itio n s (base length an d electronics are c o n sta n t)— then only depends
up o n the travel lim e of sound betw een the tran sd u cers.
E lcctrical a n d m echanical pulses are being interchanged w ithin a rin g
a t a frequency w hich is a direct m easu re for the travel tim e of sound.
T h e loss of energy th u s arisin g is com pensated in the “sem i-circle” of
 Umwandlungs-(Ring)- Prinzip
F ig . 2. — T he “ s in g -a r o u n d ” v e lo c im e te r p rin c ip le .

electrical energy. The frequency corresponding to th e sound velocity can

be m easured w ith any frequency m eter.
T hese “sin g -a ro u n d ” probes are very exact an d indicate the sound
velocities w ith an accuracy of a few d m /s . W ith a base of exactly 10 cm,
the co rrect n u m erical value of the so u n d velocity is obtained in d m /s .
F ro m the tech n ical point of view, how ever, it is very difficult to establish
such an exact base length. W ith th e a p p ro p riate tim e-presetting, the
correct n u m erical value of sound velocity can be obtained by m eans of
a p re set counter.

PRINCIPLES OF USE OF SOUND VELOCITY METERS IN SEA AREAS

F o r survey w ork it is essential to find the m ean sound velocity w ith in

each p a rtic u la r area of the survey, and to a d ju st the echo so u n d er accord­
ingly, so th a t the correct depths are registered on th e echogram .
In order to obtain the m ean sound velocity it is necessary to m easure
the sound velocity profile from the su rface of the w a te r down to the bottom
of the sea. F o r this purpose, the base sound velocity m eter m entioned
above is low ered from the surface of th e w ater to the sea bottom by w inch.
The values of sound velocity are th en read an d registered at co n stan t
intervals. F ro m these values, the m ean sound velocity has to be calculated.
T he m ean sound velocity is obtained by ad d in g all m easured sound
velocities and dividing the re su ltin g value by the n u m b er of m easurem ents.
The m ean sound velocity th u s obtained is, theoretically, not quite exact.
T he difference from the exact actu al m ean value is so sm all th a t an
a d ju stm e n t of the sounder w ould not be possible. In m ost cases, echo
sounders have tu ned reed frequency m eters (calibrated according to sound
velocity); the d istan ce betw een th e single tu n ed reeds is 10 m /s . If two
tu n e d reeds are oscillating sim u ltan e o u sly , differences of 5 m /s can still
be read.
D u rin g th e last three years, the re searc h and survey vessel Gauss
o p erated according to this m ethod. The figures 3-7 show e x tra cts of the
G auss log.

F ig . 3 and 4. — N o rth Sea s o u n d v e lo c ity p ro file s.

I said th a t from the single sound velocity m easu rem en ts th e m ean

so u n d velocity is o b tain ed by ad d in g the single velocities a n d dividing the
sum by th e n u m b e r of m easu rem en ts, i.e., to calculate the arith m e tic a l
m ean . T his w ay of averaging th e velocities is not q u ite correct from the
ph y sical p o in t of view ; it m ig h t even be w rong. L et m e give you an
ex am p le: th e car. W ith a velocity of 150 k m /h suppose th a t a c a r is
d riv in g a d istan ce of 150 km . O n the w ay back its speed is 50 k m /h .
T h e a rith m e tic a l m ean w ould th e n be 100 km . In fact, the m ean velocity
is 75 k m /h , for the car needs one h o u r for the w ay out, an d th re e h o u rs
for th e w ay back. In four h o u rs, it covers a distance of 300 k m ; so, the
a c tu a l m ean velocity is 75 k m /h . E xactly the sam e applies to sound
velocities in w ater. It is th ere fo re correct to divide the total of distances
by th e total of tim e. The high differences betw een arith m etica l m ean
values a n d co rrect m ean values occuronly if the single velocities a re in a
m u ltip le ra tio to cach other. T he closer the single values a re to each
o th er, th en the sm aller are the differences betw een the two m ethods of
averaging.
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Fid. 7. Log e n trie s .

T h e fo rm u lae fo r th e calculation of the m ean velocities a re :

SV
Formula 1

V a r ith
= arithmetical mean
v„ = single values o f the velocities
n = number of measurements
and
2 S„ ZS„
Formula 2 VL
S /„ r,
V„
V„," ‘co rr= co rrec t m ean
S„ = single p a th s of th e so u n d
V„ = single values of velocities
t„ = single travel tim es
Stf = to tal d istan ce (d ep th dow n to w hich soundings are m ade)
tg = to tal tim e.
By m ean s of concrete exam ples given by the figures show n I w a n t to prove
th a t for th e calcu latio n of th e m ean sound velocity arith m etica l averaging
will be en tire ly sufficient.

Curve 7 N orth Sen:

W a te r d ep th 42 m, 21 m easu rem en ts
Sum of the 21 m e a su re m e n ts = I V„ = 31444
I V , 31444
V = ----- - = --------- = 1 4 9 7 .3 3
'"arith fj 21

IS „ S, 2 + 2 + ................. + 2
V = ---------" = -2 - = ----------------------------------------------------------------------- =
•"co rr S . t„ 2 2 . , 2
Srf- * + 7TTT + ........... +
V„ 1503 1503 1492
42
= 1497.33
0.0280497733

In b o th cases th e sam e value of 1497.3 m /s is obtained for the m ean

so u n d velocity.

C urve 6 B a ltic Sea:

W a te r d ep th 52 m, 26 m easu rem en ts
S um of the 26 m e a su re m e n ts = 38521
38521
Vm = -------- = 1481.57 (m/s)
a r ith 26

52
Vm = -----------------= 1481.57 (m/s)
c°rr 0.03509785

C u rve 10 B altic Sea:

W a te r d ep th 14 m, 7 m easu rem en ts
Sum of the 7 m e a su re m e n ts = 10421
10421
V- a r ith = - ^/ - = 1 4 8 8 ' 7 1 (IT1/S)

V = -------- —----- = 1488.65 (m/s)

corr 0.00940447
 These th re e exam ples w ere tak en fro m co astal surveys, i.e., a t dep th s
of less th a n 100 m etres. I w a n t to give a fu rth e r ex am p le of a sound
velocity p ro file, sim ilar to fig. 8 , from th e deep sea.

w w _______________ ism wo» $c*»//gesdhr /-7*/

F ig . 8. Deep se a s o u n d v e lo c ity p r o f i l e f r o m t h e B a v o f B isc ay

(1967, R / V M eteor).

W a te r d ep th 4 500 m, 46 m easu rem en ts (every 100 m etre s).

Sum of the 46 m e a su re m e n ts = 69048.
69048
Vma r ith = 1501.04 (m/s)
46

4500
= 1500.83 (m/s)
2.9983298
In th is case, too, th e difference is not essential.
F rom these exam ples it can be seen th a t in som e cases th ere is no
difference, o r only a difference w hich is so sm all th a t it can be neglected
for surveying. F or, as I stated in one of th e p rev io u s p a ra g ra p h s, so u n d
velocity differences of less th a n 5 (m /s) c a n n o t be co m p en sated by a d ju stin g
the echo so u n d ers. N or do ev alu atio n s of o th e r curves yield b e tte r re su lts.
T he m ean so u n d velocity o b tain ed by th e sim ple m eth o d w ill alw ays differ
only so slig h tly from th e m ean so u n d velocity o b tain ed by the co rrect
m eth o d th a t it is beyond th e possibility of co m p en satio n [of the 5 (m /s )]
by a d ju s tm e n t of th e echo sounders.
If th e echo so u n d e r is coupled electro n ically to th e so u n d velocity
m eter, one w ill have to a d ju s t the electronics so th a t th e co m p u ter can
calcu late th e value V„m C O tT , as such an au to m atic calcu latio n does not cause
a n y difficulties.
I w an ted to prove in this p a p e r also th a t by m eans o f the sim ple m ethod
the m ean sound velocities can in practice be obtained w ith sufficient
ex actitu d e, in order to get exact d ep th d a ta on the echogram .

REFERENCE

A rno U l g n s k a and Jo a c h im J a r k e ; E in G erat zu r m situ-M essung der

S ch allgeschw indigkeit in m a rin e n Sedim enten. (An in s tru m e n t fo r in
situ m easu rem en ts of the velocity of sound in m a rin e sedim ents).
D e u tsc h e H y d r o g r a p h is c h e Z e itsc h rift, 19, 1966, No. 3.