A processing requirement and resolution capability comparison of side-scan and synthetic-aperture sonars

Author

Bruce, Michael P.

Author_Institution

Charles Stark Draper Lab., Cambridge, MA, USA

Volume

17

Issue

1

fYear

1992

fDate

1/1/1992 12:00:00 AM

Firstpage

106

Lastpage

117

Abstract

The processing requirements and resolution capabilities of both side-look sonar (SLS) and synthetic-aperture sonar (SAS) systems are outlined. Side-look sonar is presented as a real-beam imaging technique along with expressions for relevant system- and image-related parameters. Synthetic-aperture sonar is discussed, and the limitations imposed by the speed of sound in the ocean environment are identified. A specific side-look system (SeaMARC I) is presented under two configurations and comparable SAS designs are proposed. Based on the examples provided by the SeaMARC I system and the hypothetical SAS designs, it is shown that single-beam SAS systems can be designed to achieve area coverage rates comparable to single-beam side-scan systems, yet with improved azimuth resolution

Keywords

acoustic signal processing; sonar; underwater sound; SeaMARC I; area coverage rates; improved azimuth resolution; ocean sound speed; processing requirements; real-beam imaging; resolution capability comparison; side-look sonar; signal processing; single-beam side-scan systems; synthetic-aperture sonars; underwater acoustics; Frequency; High-resolution imaging; Image generation; Image resolution; Laser sintering; Oceans; Signal resolution; Synthetic aperture radar; Synthetic aperture sonar; Transducers;

fLanguage

English

Journal_Title

Oceanic Engineering, IEEE Journal of

Publisher

ieee

ISSN

0364-9059

Type

jour

DOI

10.1109/48.126959

Filename

126959