KONGSBERG GEOACOUSTICS Side Scan Sonars

Product Range

www.kongsberg.com
Product Range - Side Scan Sonars

Sonar 2094
• Fully digital
Digital
• 114 kHz and 410 kHz
The KONGSBERG
GEOACOUSTICS Sonar 2094 simultaneous dual frequency
Digital simultaneously ac- operation
quires side scan data at two • 24 bit data acquisition
frequencies, 114 kHz and
410 kHz. without analog AGC or TVG
• 20 MHz raw data sampling
The signals are digitised in the
towfish and­­transmitted via a with dynamic filtering for
robust digital c­ onnection to extended range performance
the transceiver over a single coaxial cable. Data transmission, processing and filter- • Attitude and depth sensors
ing are fully d
­ igital and raw data over-sampling technology results in extended and
optimised range and resolution. optional
• 1000 m depth rated (2000 m
The ground-breaking acquisition technique provides 24 bit data, covering the entire
dynamic range of underwater acoustic signals. This makes application of Automatic optional)
Gain Control (AGC) and Time Varied Gain (TVG) during acquisition obsolete. The • 1 sensor interface,
operator’s subjectivity is removed, making side scan feature mapping precisely RS232, 24 VDC, 5 W for
repeatable and objective.
magnetometer optional
The system features the proven, rugged and stable model 159D towfish, with
its standard dual frequency transducers. Towfish attitude and depth sensors are • Deck unit with GPS module
optional as is an RS232 connection that allows interfacing to a standard towed optional
magnetometer.

Existing Dual Frequency Side Scan users can easily upgrade to the latest Sonar 2094
Digital option. The towfish and transducers can be kept, only deck unit and towfish
electronics need replacing.

• Switch selectable dual
frequency (114 / 410 kHz)
• Easy to operate
• High reliability
(MBTF > 10,000 hours)
• High efficiency / low power
• Simple maintenance
• 1000 m depth rating
(2000 m optional)
• Attitude and depth sensor
optional
• Magnetometer interface
optional
Dual Frequency
Side Scan (DFSS)
The KONGSBERG
GEOACOUSTICS Dual Fre-
quency Side Scan Sonar
system is the ideal tool for
seabed feature mapping,
­offering high quality results in
a simple and reliable pack-
age. It offers switch selectable
dual frequency operation
(114 / 410 kHz), which when
combined with multiplexed
data transmission enables a low-drag coaxial cable to be used. The versatility, ease
of operation and reliability have made it a popular choice for navies and commercial
survey companies alike.

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 Applications

Pipeline Survey
Survey of a wastewater pipeline in Malaga, Spain.
KONGSBERG GEOACOUSTICS Dual Frequency Side
Scan was towed parallel to the pipeline trajectory,
imaging exposed sections in great detail as well as the
diffuser at its termination.

Infrastructure survey
Imaging of concrete anchors and breakwater in Vigo marina,
Spain, using Sonar 2094 Digital.

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Applications

Cymodocea Nodosa (Wikipedia)

Environmental Surveys
Habitat mapping in the Mediterranean using Sonar 2094 Digital. The data show
different growth types of Posidonia Oceanica and Cymodocea Nodosa on a sandy
seafloor. The seagrass species play a crucial role in the Mediterranean ecosystem.
Monitoring its extent and growth pattern is an important part in assessing marine
habitats.

Posidonia Oceanica: (Wikipedia)

Environmental Surveys
Texture mapping using Sonar 2094 Digital, left 410 kHz, right 114 kHz, acquired simultaneously.

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 Object positioning
Sonar 2094 Digital survey in the Mediterranean locating biotope deterrences. The
hexapods with c. 1m long extremities are placed on the seafloor to prevent trawl
fishing in marine conservation areas. The survey was carried out to locate the
objects after deployment.

Object detection
Car tires and debris beside a
quay wall.

Object detection
Fender made from four truck tires.

Object detection
Lost ships’ anchor c. 2 m long.

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System Configuration

laptop

deck unit
Option 1
soft-tow cable

magnetometer
interface
(optional)
deck
cable

Option 2
armoured tow armoured cable
cable winch

towfish

pitch, roll and heading sensor

(optional)

depth sensor
(optional)
responder
(optional)

Sonar 2094 Digital
Main components are the 159D towfish
and the Digital Side Scan Transceiver
deck unit. The towfish can be equipped
with optional pitch, roll, heading
and depth sensors as well as with an
­magnetometer interface. Its standard
depth rating is 1000 m and a 2000 ­­m
rated version is available. It can be
ballasted depending on the operating
depth.
A soft-towcable can be used up to 300 m
length (option 1). For deeper opera-
tions an armoured towcable is deployed Dual Frequency Side
to achieve a ratio of tow depth to cable Scan (DFSS)
length of up to 1:4 (option 2). In this
The system uses the 159D tow fish with
case the cable is handled by a hand-
analog data transmission via the two ca-
operated, electrical or hydraulic winch,
ble options. The towfish can be equipped
which connects to the deck unit via the
with optional sensors. The deck unit
deck cable.
(Transceiver Model 981) connects to the
The system interfaces to all major acquisition laptop via an A/D converter.
­acquisition and post-processing software
packages that run on a laptop computer
linked to the digital side scan transceiver
via Ethernet connection.

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3D view of side-scan towfish,
beam pattern and acoustic
coverage
Horizontal
beam
Vertical
beam
Vertical beam depression angle
Towfish facing view showing beam pattern and depression angle.
Side Scan sonars provide acoustic i­mages
of the seabed. The acoustic signal is
transmitted and received by a pair of
transducers, which are deployed in the
towfish. The beam patterns show narrow
horizontal directivity (114 kHz: 1º, 410
kHz: 0.3º) and wide vertical directiv-
ity (114 kHz: 50º, 410 kHz: 40º). The
beams intercept the seafloor in thin
stripes. The backscatter values from the
short ­acoustic signal are recorded as
time series across the stripes, revealing
bathymetric and textural differences of
the seafloor. The image is built up with
consecutive transmission pings along the
travel path of the sonar.
The best image is achieved at low graz-
ing angles of incidence; a ratio of 1:10
between fly height above the seafloor
and desired coverage is recommended.
To get the towfish to the ­corresponding
optimum depth a ratio of up to 1:4
between towfish depth and towcable
length is needed.
Side Scan Technology
Tow cable to
surface vessel
Plan view of
beam
coverage
Tow speed
determines
ping spacing
Image courtesy of
Mark Atherton
Kongsberg Mesotech
Although mainly providing imaging,
­relative bathymetry information and
object dimensions can be derived from
the data.
Post processing of the acquired data
leads to improvement of imaging quality.
Geo-referencing allows production of
image maps, so called side scan m ­ osaics.
Normalisation algorithm, making use of
beam pattern and backscatter informa-
tion, lead to automated texture clas-
sification, allowing the differentiation of
bottom types and objects.
For optimal post-processing and nor-
malisation Sonar 2094 Digital acquires
data with 24 bit sample depth, which is
equivalent to a dynamic range of 144
dB. This includes the complete range
of underwater acoustics signals from
background noise to cavitation. No gain
corrections like TVG (time variant gain)
and AGC (automatic gain control) are
needed during the acquisition stage,
assuring true raw data recording without
the influence of human subjectivity.
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