Professional Documents
Culture Documents
What is Sounding ?
Sounding
• In the modern context , Sounding generally
refers to a mechanism of probing the
environment by sending out some kind of
stimulus.
http://www-groups.mcs.st-
and.ac.uk/history/BigPictures/Posidonius.jpeg
Posidonius
• conducted the first bathymetric studies
• 85 B.C.
Tanner sounding machine Sigbee sounding machine
• developed around 1880 • developed around 1880
http://woodshole.er.usgs.gov/operations/sfmapping/images/theb0914_small.jpg
http://www.nefsc.noaa.gov/history/ships/albatross1/sigsbee-sounding.jpg
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Fessende
n
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Fessende
n
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Fessende
n
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Reginald_Fessende
n
• Divide it by 2 ( two ).
• Depth : d = v x t ÷ 2
Scheme of echosounding
Echo sounders
sense the
contour of the
seafloor by
beaming sound
waves to the
bottom and
measuring the
time required for
V = speed of sound in
the sound waves water
to bounce back (about 1.5 km/sec)
to the ship. T = time
Common use
Transmitter Receiver
T/R switch
Transducer
Transmitted Returning
pulse Echo
One of the most important component
of an Echosounding System is the
Transducer
• Electrostrictive transducers
• Magnetostrictive Transducers
• Piezoelectric Resonators
Electrostrictive Transducers
• Materials like quartz, exhibit pressure electric effects when they are
subjected to mechanical stress
• Such materials - especially like the much used Lead Zirconate Titanate - is
said to be Ferro-electric in nature ( similar to Ferro-magnetic substances)
**
Electrostrictive Transducers
Limitations :
1000 m
DEPTH
4000 m
Transmission line error
• This is caused by the misalignment of the
reference ‘ ZERO ’ on the scale.
Scale Zero
Reference
Zero
• 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.
PYTHAGOREAN ERROR
Tx Rx
Actual depth
Path Travelled
Aeration
• The presence of air in water
will affect speed as follows :
c h o
s tE
Fir
c ho
nd E
2
Method to reduce false echoes
Reflection echoes
•a) Double Echoes
- Echoes received after reflection from the seabed, but which the hull or the sea surface
back to the bottom and then reflects thence to the transducer. They produce a second weaker
echo at approximately double the correct depth. It will fade out if sensitivity is reduced (may be
received up to several hundreds metres).
•
b) Multiple Echoes
- Echoes received after being reflected several times between the seabed and the surface
or the ship's bottom before the energy is lost. It causes equally spaced echoes on the trace.
Reduce sensitivity to fade out. Switch on to first phase and then phase deeper to locate first echo.
•c) Variable Echoes
- These are varying reflecting surfaces on the seabed. In general hard sand, coral, chalk
and rock are good reflectors and thick mud is a poor reflector. Stepped formation of rock result in
side Echoes from an object not immediately below the vessel but whose slant depth is less than
the depth of water.
•d) Electrical faults, or man made noises.
Other False Echoes
These do not normally obscure the bottom echo and may be caused by:
• Shoals of fish
• Layers of water of differing sounding velocities (salinity etc.)
• The deep scattering layer, which is a layer or set of layers, in the
• ocean, believed to consist of plankton and which attenuate,
scatter and reflect sound pulses. They lie between about 300-450
metres below the surface by day, and near the surface between
sunset and sunrise (by day, it is more pronounced when the sky is
clear, than when overcast).
• Kelp or weed.
• Turbulence from the interaction of tidal streams or eddies with
solid particles in suspension.
SPEED ERROR
• The speed of the recorder motor must be
proportional to the velocity of sound in
seawater and the velocity is known to vary.
• The recorder motor running at an incorrect
speed causes the speed error.
• If the motor speed is too fast, it will record a
greater depth and if it is too slow than a lesser
depth.
Ranging
Ranging:
Ranging is technique were the scale of the echo sounder is
kept constant and the stylus is varied according to the depth
scale chose. E.g.- 0-100, 0-200, 0-300 mtrs ans so on
Modern Echo sounders
• While many make/models of
type approved echo sounders
are available, some of the
popular brands are shown as
follows
Various Models of Modern
Echo sounders
Supernet 700
CVS - 126
GDS 101
CVS 841C/ 841 P
4620
THANK YOU
•
• Any Questions ?