High-Resolution Geoacoustic Characterization of the Seafloor Using a Subbottom Profiler in the Gulf of Lion

Subbottom profilers are commonly used to explore the first sediment layers below the seafloor. Recent narrowbeam profilers achieve improved performances in terms of signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) and resolution. Thus, the potential of these systems for near real-time geoacoustic characterization of sediments is high and is worth being specifically explored. This paper presents several methods to estimate geoacoustic parameters such as the absorption, the reflectivity, and the impedance contrast. These procedures are tested against real data collected with the SBP 120 subbottom profiler during the CALIbration MEthodology for Recognition of the Ocean bottom (CALIMERO) experiment. It is shown that the absorption and impedance contrast estimates are fully consistent with in situ measurements, which tends to confirm the possibility of near real-time characterization of sediment layers.