Marine Echo Sounder

How does it work?

Acoustic pulses at the rate of 5 – 600 pulses/min having bandwidth of 12-25 degrees are transmitted
vertically by the echosounder transducer. Received echoes are converted to electrical signals by
transducer. The electrical signals are sent to the stylus which produces corresponding marks on the
recording paper.
Average speed of acoustic signals is 1505 (approx. 1500) m/s at 15 deg C temperature & 3.4% salinity.
Sound speed in sea water varies between 1445 and 1535 m/s depending on temperature, pressure and
salinity. Standard value of 1500 m/s gives soundings within 5% of actual depths even when extreme values
of speed are encountered. If required depths can be corrected from sounding correction tables (NP 139).

Recording unit: It originates the sequence of events by transmitting an electrical signal to the pulse
generator at the same instant as a stylus commences to travel across a sheet of sensitized paper. This is
usually achieved by means of a small carefully regulated constant speed motor which actuates the stylus, a
contactor being used to originate the signal to the pulse generator at the correct instant.

Digital Recorder Paper Recorder

Pulse Generator: It contains a tuned circuit and a voltage multiplying device so that in response to the
signal from the recording unit a heavy pulse of alternating current is discharged through the transmitter. A
voltage doubling device can be made connecting the two capacitors in parallel when charging and in series
when discharging. This arrangement, in conjunction with suitable inductances to give the required tuned
frequency, produces the short high powered pulse necessary.

Transmitter: It may sometimes be a quartz oscillator (Electrostrictive type working on the principle of
piezoelectric effect) but is usually of the magneto striction type. The latter depends on the fact that certain
substances when subjected to magnetic fields tend to alter in size. Nickel is particularly susceptible to this
effect and a bar of nickel placed in a solenoid tends to reduce in length when current is passed through the
windings. This effect is independent of the direction of the field so that an a.c. would cause the bar to vibrate
with a frequency twice that of current.

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Receiver: After reflection from the sea bed the returning sound wave is received by a magneto striction type
receiving transducer. The nickel washers vibrate in tune with the incoming sound waves and, provided that it
is slightly magnetized, an a.c. pulse will be induced in the windings. The current is very small and is
transmitted to the amplifier.

Amplifier: It generally consists of more than one stage. Its function is to amplify the signal from the receiver
to a value which can be used in the recorder.

Recorder: It leads the amplified signal current to the moving stylus and on passing through the electrolytic
paper to the earthed back plate a clearly visible mark is made. The position of the mark on the paper
depends upon the distance moved by the stylus during the transit interval of the sound wave and this
depends directly on the depth of water.

Various Parameters
Range: Range can be increased by arranging that the stylus does not start to move until a fixed interval
after the transmission (phasing) or by reducing the speed at which stylus sweeps across the paper.

Diffused reflection from the seabed is better than specular reflection because of motion of ship. Higher
frequency gives greater diffused reflection. And it is easier to concentrate the signals into narrow beams.
But higher frequencies have some disadvantages too. These are
1. More attenuation
2. Transducers have to be small which may not be able to produce sufficient power.

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Thus the acceptable compromise is struck while deciding the frequency and optimizing the desired results.
Moreover frequency should not be within audio frequency range otherwise audible noises (engine, wake,
water hitting ship’s hull etc.) will also be picked up as echoes and appear as noise. (audio range : 30 Hz –
20 KHz)

Pulse length: It lies 0.2 to 2 ms and varies with manufacturer. For a given set shorter the range scale
shorter the pulse length and vice versa. Stylus rotates at half the scale speed of acoustic signals i.e. at scale
speed = 750 m/s. Echo cannot be received till transmission is over. And because stylus movement is
synchronized with the leading edge of the pulse minimum measurable depth is given by ½ PL. Thus for a PL
of 2ms min. measurable depth will be 1/2 PL = ½*2/1000*1500 = 1.5 m

Pulse Repetition Frequency: If PRF is 2 then in 1s, 2 pulses are transmitted or each pulse is transmitted
every ½ s. This means each pulse has ½ s at its disposal i.e. ¼ s to go and ¼ s to come back at the
transducer. This means it will cover a distance of (¼+ ¼) * 1500 = 750 m which in turn corresponds to depth
of 350 m. Thus each value of PRF corresponds to maximum critical depth that can be measured.
If actual depth is more than the critical depth, the second successive pulse will have left the transducer
before the first pulse arrives as an echo. Correspondingly, stylus also would have completed its one
rotation. Thus echo will be received on the second round of the stylus and is known as “second trace echo”.
The correct depth of such echo is given by adding critical depth to the depth indicated on the recorder.

Paper Speed: Speed of paper over which stylus moves can be varied in addition to pre-programmed
change of paper speed with range scale.
If bottom is uneven and a careful examination is required then the fast speed will give more separation of
traces.
If echoes are faint e.g. at greater depth, slow paper speed will accentuate the echoes.
If running a line of soundings that require a change of scale , it is advisable to maintain a constant paper
speed to assist subsequent analysis.

Errors
Transmission line misaligned: The position of transmission line or zero line should be carefully aligned
with the transmission of pulse. This datum of the stylus can be adjusted as instructed in maker’s manual.
If the transmission line is set to the depth of the transducers, the recorded depth will be below the surface of
the sea. If it is set to the zero of the scale, depths will be recorded below the transducers. Should the
transducers be higher than the keel, by say 1m, then setting the transmission line to read -1 would give
recorded depth below the keel. If transmission line is set to depth of transducers care is necessary when
ship proceeds from salt to fresh water.

SPEED OF STYLUS: After adjusting T.L., the speed of the sounder should be checked and adjusted to
correspond to a velocity of sound in water of 1500 m/s or such speed as the makers recommend. This is
usually done by measuring with a stopwatch the time for a given number of revolutions of the stylus as
instructed in maker’s handbook.
FALSE ECHOES:
ROUND THE CLOCK ECHOES: False readings may be obtained from a correctly adjusted sounder when
the returning echo is not received until after the stylus has completed one or more of its cycles and so
repassed the transmission line and the next pulse has been transmitted.
If a sounder has its scale divided so that one complete cycle of the stylus corresponds to a depth of 300m,

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an indicated depth of 10m, could be sounding of 10. 310 or even 610m. Such false readings can sometimes
be recognized if the trace appears weaker than normal for the depth recorded, or passes through the
transmission line, or has a feathery appearance.
DOUBLE ECHOES: With many types of sounder, an echo may be received at about twice the actual depth.
This mark on the trace is caused by the transmission pulse, after reflection from the seabed, being reflected
from the surface and again from the seabed. It is always weaker than true echo, and will be the first to fade
out if the sensitivity of the receiver is reduced.Its possible existence must always be borne in mind when a
sounder is started in other than first phase setting.
MULTIPLE ECHOES: The transmission pulse in depths as great as several hundred meters may be
reflected, not once but several times, between the seabed and the surface of the sea or the ship’s bottom
before its energy is dissipated, causing a number of echoes to be recorded on the trace, These multiple
echoes can be faded out by reducing the sensitivity of the set. In the first phase setting, multiple echoes are
too obvious to cause confusion, but should be guarded against in the second or subsequent phase setting.
The sounder should always be switched on in the first phase and then phased deeper to find the first echo.
Echoes other than bottom echoes seldom have the reflective qualities to produce strong multiple echoes,
and may sometimes be distinguished from the bottom echo by increasing the sensitivity of the set and
comparing the multiple echoes.
In addition, they are caused by following:
1. Shoals of fish
2. Layers of water with deep scattering layer or set of layers believed to consist of plankton and fishes.It lies
between 300 – 450 m below the surface during day and ascends to the surface by sunset and remaining
there till sunrise. By day it is more pronounced when sky is clear than when overcast.
3. Submarine springs
4. Seaweed
5. Side echoes from an object not directly below vessel but whose slant depth is less than depth of seabed.
6. Turbulence caused by tidal streams or eddies with solid particles in suspension
7. Electrical faults or man made noises.
8. Sudden changes in temperatures and salinity can cause masking of bottom echoes

Weak Echoes: They are caused by:

1. Ship’s speed
2. Shape and condition of hull
3. Unsuitable siting of transducer
4. Sea and weather conditions
5. Aeration (caused by sternway, wake of vessel moving ahead, application of wheel, head trim)

Cautions while checking depths

1. SQUAT: consists of settlement and change of trim. It does not alter ship’s draft The effect depends on
configuration of seabed, depth of water and vessel’s speed. The theoretical squat on a vessel drawing 10.0
m in a depth of 12.5 m will be 1.0 m at a speed of 15 knots.
In shallow water squat causes abnormal bow and stern waves to build up, which if observed should be
taken as an indication that the ship is in shallow water with little clearance below the keel. The amount of
squat depends on many variables which differ, not only from ship to ship, but from place to place and can
seldom be accurately predicted even in theory. So generous allowance should be made for this when ship is
in shallow water.
2. Reduced depth over submarine pipelines which may stand as high as 2m
3. Possible inaccuracies in offshore tidal predictions
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4. Risk of negative tidal surges
5. Possible alterations in depths since last survey
6. Weather: rolling and pitching reduces UKC e.g. for a vessel of 50 m beam UKC is reduced by 0.5 m for a
roll of 1 degree.
7. In certain areas where nature of bottom is unstable, depths may change by 1m or more, in a matter of
months after a new survey.
8. Shifting banks or sand waves may themselves appreciably alter depths.

SETTING UP PROCEDURE: Prior to use, the back plate should be cleaned and the roll of recording paper
fitted.
The equipment should be switched on; a range scale commencing at zero and covering the expected
sounding should be selected e.g. 0 – 100 m.
The gain or sensitivity control should be adjusted until there is a clear trace from the sea bed. In the
absence of a response, the maximum range scale having a zero should be selected and the gain set so that
noise speckles are just marking the paper.
Adjust illumination if required.
Controls for paper speed (if provided) should be set at slow to permit trace integration of weak responses
while making initial detection.
Alarms, if provided, may also be set.
Where a trace is already available, care should be taken in setting the gain control so as to avoid multiple
traces which can result from signals bouncing between seabed and the hull.
Choose the setting between UKC and depth of water.
Great care should be exercised when setting the gain control and using phased range scales.

ECHO SOUNDER GRAPHICAL DISPLAY: should be sited on the bridge in position to facilitate easy
access and viewing, and where the effect of any lighting for the equipment does not interfere with the
keeping of an effective lookout.
It should also facilitate easy servicing, repair and changing of paper rolls/stylus etc.
Because they are operated for long periods, adequate ventilation is essential. Thus sufficient space should
be available around the display unit so as to avoid overheating and effect of fumes from some types of dry
recorder papers.

SITING OF TRANSDUCERS:
Avoid putting them in the vicinity of underwater openings or projections from hull, such as plugs, anodes or
other transducers, so that overall satisfactory performance is achieved.
The ideal position for transducer is one where there is no aeration beneath the transducer. And where the
effect of surface, engine and propeller noise are at a minimum. Such positions are few on a ship and
moreover position found to be satisfactory on one ship may not be suitable for another ship.
The principal source of aeration is the bow wave created by a moving ship. The wave rises some way up
from the stem, curls over, and is the forced down beneath the ship, taking a quantity of air with it. The
resultant bubble stream starts about a quarter length of the ship from the stem, and divides about three
quarters of the length from the bow. The bubble stream varies in form and intensity according to speed,
draught, shape of bow and hull, and the trim of the vessel and sea state. In particular in the case of bulbous
bow, the only satisfactory site may be within the bulb, although the consequence of physical damage has to
be recognized.
To avoid aeration, a position at the forepeak is desirable but it may be unsatisfactory in a ship with a light
draught forward, especially in bad weather conditions. In addition the hull shape may make fitting difficult.
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In a laden ship of normal design apposition within a quarter of the ship’s length from the stem will often be
found to give satisfactory results. On small vessels damage may occur due to pounding and care should be
taken when siting transducers. However it should also not be sited very close to propeller.
When separate transmitting and receiving transducers are fitted, they should be sufficiently separated to
prevent interaction between them but it should also be kept as small as is possible to ensure accurate
soundings in shallow waters.
Transducer should be installed in horizontal position.
If windowed transducer has to used, the window should be acoustically thin so that the range of the
equipment is not adversely affected.
Siting near and particularly aft of ford propeller, bow thruster, water intake pipes, drain plugs and external
speed measuring devices should be avoided.
To minimize effect of roll and pitch, centreline siting should be chosen.
Care should be taken to minimize interference between echo sounders and Doppler logs.
Information regarding the position of the transducer should be available onboard.

VOLUME REVERBERATION: is defined as scattering of sound waves from randomly positioned

suspended particles, organism etc in water column. Intensity of sound reverberated from a unit volume of
water is called volume reverberation. It is expressed in dB. In deep water it does not cause much problem,
but in shallows reverberation can happen multiple times causing high background signal levels. On rocky
bottoms it can cause multiple echoes.
Short PL, narrow beams and absence of side lobes can minimize the volume reverberation and also reduce
reverberation from seabed. This, in turn improves signal to noise ratio.

Phasing & Ranging

In an echo sounder the stylus is rotating with certain constant speed and transmission takes place when the
stylus passes the zero mark.

When higher range scale is selected, the transmission will still take place when the stylus comes to zero.
But the stylus speed is reduced because the stylus has to remain on the paper for longer period of time
since the echoes are returning from greater depths.

This system is known as “RANGING “.

The range scales are generally provided as:

0 – 100 mtrs, 0 – 200 mtrs, 0 – 300 mtrs, 0 – 400 mtrs and so on.

Since the same length of paper now covers a larger depth the graduations become closer and it becomes
difficult to read the depth accurately.

PHASING arrangement is used to avoid this. In Phasing arrangement, the speed the stylus motor is kept
constant, but the transmission point is advanced.

As shown in below given Figure, four sensors are positioned around the stylus belt and stylus is rotating at a
constant speed.

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A magnet mounted on the belt generates the pulse when it passes the sensor, which in turn activates the
transmitter. When the minimum range ( 0 – 100 mtrs ) is selected, the sensor 1 is used and the delay circuit
arrangement is such that the transmission occurs exactly when the stylus passes the zero mark. The bottom
scale of the paper will depend on the speed of the stylus motor and it is set to 100 mtr.

On selecting the higher range ( 100 – 200 meters ), the sensor 2 is used for activating the transmitter and
the zero of the scale so shifted that the top of the paper corresponds to 100 meters. Since the speed of the
stylus motor remains same, the bottom graduation corresponds to 200 mtrs.

Similarly, for measuring higher ranges different sensors are selected and the transmission time will be
advanced accordingly. It is always advisable to start the echo sounder at minimum range scale when
phasing facility is provided, so that shallow depths are not missed.
Thus the danger of missing shallow waters can be avoided.

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