I n t e r n a t i o n a l H y d r o g r a p h i c R e v i e w , M on aco , L I I (2 ), J u l y 1975

CALIBRATION OF ECHO SOUNDERS

FOR OFFSHORE SOUNDING
USING TEMPERATURE AND DEPTH

by M. C a l d e r ,
Com m ander R A N ,
Australian H ydrograp h ic Service

ABSTRACT

One o f the difficu lties confronting hydrographic surveyors in the past

lias been that o f calibrating echo sounders to compensate fo r the va ryin g
velocity o f sound in the w ater column. M echanical m ethods such as bar
checks, w hilst adequate fo r shallow w ater bathym etry, w ere im practical
and inaccurate fo r depths in excess o f about 30 metres. This paper
outlines a new and m ore satisfactory technique.

INTRODUCTION

Th e standard hydrographic surveying practice adopted fo r m easuring

water depth is to set the echo-sounder so that it reads the depth o f w ater
below the sea surface. T o these depths is then applied a tidal correction
to reduce soundings to a common datum.
Th e setting o f the echo sounder to read the depth o f w ater below
the surface is achieved in two stages. F irstly the m om ent o f transmission,
represented by the transmission line on the trace, is set to the depth o f
the transducers below' the w ater line. Secondly the speed o f the echo
sounder stylus is adjusted for the sound velocity in sea w ater. As variation
in the speed o f the echo-sounder stylus w ill affect the setting o f the
transmission line this procedure is repeated.
 PRESENT METHODS

W it h most agencies the m ethod used to check echo-sounders is the

bar check. Th is method is quite satisfactory, and indeed is the ultim ate,
in sh allow w ater down to the deepest depth at w hich a good clear echo
can be obtained from the bar. F or offshore w ork deeper than about
20 metres, it is usual to ca rry out a bar check to the deepest depth possible
and accept the speed o f the stylus thus found as the correct speed for
the w ater column out to the edge o f the Continental Shelf or approxim ately
the 300-metre contour.
It is w ell know n that good bar checks below 30 metres are most
d ifficu lt to obtain. The w eath er must be calm, the sea smooth, and tidal
streams slack; even w ith such conditions the process is most tim e consum­
ing. W ith a ship bar this is p a rticu larly so. It is difficu lt to kn ow from
w hence the echo is actually received, the bar itself can bend slightly, and
it can be offset by current, d rift and other variables. The thickness o f the
air pocket (Rubbazote, air fille d hose, or enclosed angle iron ) can be up
to 5 cm thick and the point o f reflection is in doubt. A n error o f 5 cm in
the depth o f the bar at 30 m etres w ill give a false sound velocity o f
2.5 m etres/second w hich in turn w ill give a depth error o f 0.5 m etres in
300 m etres. Although such an error is rather m inor in itself, the erroneous
speed setting m ay com pound w ith the assumption that the sound velocity
is the same all the w ay to the seabed to produce errors in excess o f
3 metres in 300 metres.
T h e largest errors in sounding in deep coastal waters are caused by
the assum ption that the sound velocity obtained in the first 30 metres
o f the w ater colum n is correct fo r greater depths. Th is is usually not so.
In general the sound velocity in the shallow er depth is greater than that
in the deeper w ater and th erefore the error w ill give depths greater than
the true depth. Th is is con trary to the standard practice o f errin g on the
side o f safety.

o ___

5 0 ----

Depth
(m etres)

1 5 0 ____

I I I I I I I I I I__I__ I__ l__L

10 15 20 25

Temperature C°

F ig . 1
 F ig u re 1 shows a typical tem perature/depth p ro file off the N ew
South W a les Coast near the edge o f the Continental Shelf.
It can be seen that in the first 30-40 metres, the depth to w h ich a
bar check w ould be carried out, the tem perature is uniform . T h erea fter
it decreases rap idly, as does the sound velocity.

Measurement of the speed of sound

W ith m odern echo-sounders the electronic govern in g arrangem ents

give speeds m uch m ore stable ( ± 0.3 per cent) than those previou sly
achieved w ith the old “ m ake and b re a k ” type o f governor. The bar check
enables the echo sounder to be set correctly for the sound velocity on ly
in the first 30 m etres or so o f the w ater column. I f w e are to benefit from
the inherent accuracy of m odern echo sounding equipm ent w e must obtain
an accurate sound ve lo city p ro file for greater depths.
Th e sound ve lo city in sea-water can be d irectly m easured b y a V eloci-
m eter [1 ]. H ow ever such item s obtained from com m ercial sources are
expensive, and u ntil they can be obtained m ore cheaply w e must look to
other methods.
One m ethod is to compute the sound velocity by using W ils o n ’s
Equation (1960) [2 ] having observed salinity, tem perature and depth.
T h e last tw o param eters can be found by using a bathytherm ograph.
Salinity presents m ore o f a problem .

Measurement of salinity, depth and temperature

A p a rt from the use o f sophisticated instruments, salinity can be found

b y using a h ydrom eter and the table given in A n n ex A ; h ow ever an
exam ination o f cruise data o f H M A S Gascoyne and D ia m a n tin a in the
Continental S helf areas o f A u stralia since 1965 shows that the salinity in
the Australian area is generally between 34.5 and 36.0 parts per thousand
and that it changes on ly slightly w ith depth down to 300 metres.
It has been decided in the Australian H ydrograp h ic O ffice that, fa ilin g
other m ethods o f ascertaining salinity, a salinity o f 35 parts per thousand
can be taken as standard in depths over 20 m etres (i.e. w here the bar
check is not a satisfactory m ethod o f checking echo speed). Tem peratu re
and depth can be found using the appropriate bathytherm ograph : 450
feet down to 140 metres, 900 feet dow n to 280 m etres, or an E xpendable
B athytherm ograph (w h ere such is fitte d ) fo r all depths.

Calculation of sound velocity

T h e m ethod used to obtain the mean sound ve lo city fo r a colum n o f

w ater is that advocated by U l o n s k a [ 1 ] , that is, the arithm etic m ean o f
a series o f velocities obtained at fixed depth intervals. In the Australian
H ydrographic Service a depth increm ent o f 10 metres is used. Numerous
approxim ations o f W ils o n ’s (1960) equation can be found; how ever the
fo llow in g has been accepted by the Hydrographer, R.A.N. :
C = 1449 + 4.6 / - 0.055 f2 + 0.0003 f3 + (1.39-0.012 t) ( s - 35) + 0.017 <i
where :
C = Sound velocity in m etres/second;
t = Tem perature in degrees Celsius;
s = Salinity in parts per thousand;
d = Depth below surface in metres.
A program m e for solving this form ula and obtaining the arithm etic
mean o f the velocity p rofile to selectable depths has been w ritten fo r the
C o m p u c o r p 155 Surveyor Desk-top computer by the H ydrographic Office
(Progra m m e HO 0005).

PROCEDURE RECOMMENDED

T h e fo llo w in g procedure fo r setting an echo sounder for sound velocity

depending on salinity, tem perature and depth has been adopted by the
Australian H ydrographic Service :
(a ) Obtain a good bathytherm ograph cast from surface to seabed w ith
the ship stopped. O btain a surface reference tem perature check
(using bucket therm om eter) to enable tem perature correction to
be applied.
(b) Compute mean sound velocity using program m e HO 0005 w ith
a salinity o f 35 parts per thousand or observed salinity if available.
(c) Set the sound velocity on the echo sounder [3 ].
(d ) Set the transmission line to the “ depth” o f the transducers below
the w aterline. On sets w ith common receive/transm it transducers
(A tla s Deso 10) this can be done by direct m easurem ent of
draught at the transducers. On sets w ith separate receive- and
transm it transducers (K e lv in Hughes MS26) this must be done by
a shallow bar check.

CONCLUSION

Th e m ethod o f setting the echo sounder recom m ended above was

im plem ented in H M A S Moresby during the 1973 survey season. A fte r the
echo had been set, and w henever the weather was satisfactory, a bar check
was also taken. N o measurable errors could be found.
Th e tim e taken to check the sound velocity d a ily once the echo had
been in itia lly set was no m ore than 10 minutes, o f w hich the ship had to
rem ain stopped for only so long as was needed to obtain the bathy­
therm ograph cast. B y comparison, to bar check a ship echo-sounder even
in perfect conditions takes at least 30 minutes.
Th e fo llow in g extract from a report o f survey in m id 1974 clearly
illustrates the problems that can be encountered w ith ship bar checks and
highlights the va lid ity o f the proposed m ethod o f setting the echo-sounder.
“ Th e Atlas Deso 10 was bar checked on three occasions, givin g a
speed o f sound of 1497 metres per second. U nfortunately, a bathy­
therm ograph record was not taken until late in the season. W ith
the accepted salinity o f 35 a speed o f sound o f 1533.6 metres per
second was computed. Sounding continued at 1497 metres/second
until a full investigation o f the situation could be conducted in calm
water. In air, it was determ ined that the bar had a m axim um sag
in excess of 1 m etre and at the distance from the centreline at w hich
the transducer is situated, a sag o f 0.6 metre. In still water, a sag
of 0.3 m etre was measured at the appropriate transducer distance.
This, however, increased/decreased depending on w hether the bar
was being raised/lowered. Computing the results of the bar check
with the mean o f the presumed underw ater sag i.e. 0.45 metre, gave
a velocity of 1534 metres/second. A ll soundings taken by Atlas
Deso 10 have been adjusted to 1534 m etres/second” .

REFERENCES

[1 ] U lonska, A. : A m ore accurate hydrographic survey by direct

measurement o f sound velocity in the sea. In tern ation al Hydrog.
Review, X L IX (1), Jan. 1972, pp. 71-80.
[2 ] V P. and H e r s f .y , J.B. : Sound in the sea. The Sea, V ol. 1,
ig o u r e u x ,

Chap. 12, p. 478. Interscience Publishers, 1960.

[3 ] A d m ira lty Manual of H ydrograp h ic Surveying, V ol. II, Chap. 3,
para. 4(b).
 ANNEX A

S a lin ity

( P a rts per thousand)

Apparent Temperature °C
specific
gravity 0 5 6 8 10 12 14 16 18 20 22 24 26 28 30

19 19 >■>r\
1.0150 19 i Z.U 20 21 21 22 Li '23 24 25 25
1.0155 20 20 20 20 20 21 21 22 22 23 23 24 25 25 2b
1.0160 20 21 21 21 21 21 21 22 22 23 24 25 25 26 27
1.0165 21 21 21 22 22 22 22 23 23 24 25 25 26 27 27
1.0170 21 22 22 22 22 23 23 24 24 24 25 26 27 27 28
1.0175 22 23 23 23 23 23 24 24 24 25 26 27 27 28 29
1.0180 23 23 23 23 24 24 24 25 25 26 27 27 28 29 30
1.0185 23 24 24 24 24 25 25 25 26 27 27 28 29 29 30
1.0190 24 24 24 25 25 25 26 26 26 27 28 28 29 30 31
1.0195 25 25 25 25 26 26 26 27 27 28 28 29 30 31 31
1.0200 25 26 26 26 26 27 27 27 27 28 29 30 31 31 32
1.0205 26 26 26 27 27 27 28 28 28 29 30 30 31 32 33
1.0210 27 27 27 27 27 28 28 29 29 30 30 31 32 33 33
1.0215 27 27 28 28 28 28 29 29 29 30 31 32 33 33 34
1.0220 28 28 28 29 29 29 30 30 30 31 32 32 33 34 35
1.0225 28 29 29 29 29 30 30 31 31 32 32 33 34 35 35
1.0230 29 29 29 30 30 30 31 31 31 32 33 34 35 35 36
1.0235 30 30 30 30 31 31 32 32 32 33 34 34 35 36 37
1.0240 30 31 31 31 31 32 32 33 33 34 34 35 36 37 37
1.0245 31 31 31 32 32 32 33 33 33 34 35 36 37 37 38
1.0250 32 32 32 32 33 33 33 34 34 35 36 36 37 38 39
1.0255 32 32 33 33 33 34 34 35 35 36 36 37 38 39 40
1.0260 33 33 33 34 34 34 35 35 35 36 37 38 39 39 40
1.0265 33 34 34 34 34 35 35 36 36 37 38 38 39 40 -
1.0270 34 34 34 35 35 36 36 37 37 38 38 39 40 - -
1.0275 35 35 35 35 36 36 37 37 37 38 39 40 - - -
1.0280 35 36 36 36 36 37 37 38 38 39 40 - - - -
1.0285 36 36 36 36 37 37 38 38 39 40 - - - -
1.0290 37 37 37 37 38 38 39 39 40 - - - - - -

( E x t r a c t f r o m K e l v i n & Hughe s (M a r i n e ) Ltd ., P u b l i c a t i o n M 3 0 1 R I :

“ MS26 T y p e s A & F — O p e r a t i o n an d S e r v ic e M a n u a l ” ).
 AN EARLY COMMENDATION
OF A SEA SURVEYOR

In D ecem b er 1762 Rear A dm iral C o l v i l l e u n d er w h o se

d irection Mr. C o o k , Master, had been su rv ey in g in N orth
A m erican w aters w ro te to the Secretary o f the B ritish
A dm iralty as fo llo w s :
“ On this O cca sion , I beg leave to in form their L ord sh ip s,
that from m y E xp erien ce o f Mr. C o o k ’ s Genius and
C apacity, I th in k him w ell q u a lified fo r the W o rk he has
p erform e d , and fo r greater U ndertakings o f the same
kind : these Draughts bein g m ade u nd er m y o w n E ye I
can venture to say, they m ay be the m eans o f d ire ctin g
many in the right w a y , but can not m islead a n y ” .
F r o m “ T h e L i f e o f C aptain Jam es C o o k ” b y
J.C. B e a g l e h o l e , T h e H a k l u y t S o c ie ty , L o n d o n
1974, r e c e n t l y r e c e i v e d in t h e B u r e a u L i b r a r y .