Side Scan Sonar for Survey

Cartographie du couvert vegetal marin du golfe de gabes et mise en place d'un reseau de surveillance du de Posidonia oceanica. La cartographie a ete realise a travers 4800 stations d'observations directes par plongee au scaphandre autonome, apnee et ROV et camera sous marine, le recours au sonar a balayage lateral (swatch bathymetry) et l'imagerie satellitaire a permis de couvrir la totalite du golfe de la Chebba au nord a la frontiere Tuniso-Libyenne au sud, et du littoral a lisobathe -50m. La superfice couverte par nos travaux est estimee a 3.407.600 hectares, dont 1.152.900 ha sont occupes par la Posidonie soit 34% de cette aire prospectee, occupant ainsi la superficie la plus inportante de medietrranee. Pour assurere le suivi de cet importante biocenose marine littorale, nous avons balises 39 stations allant de -0.5 m a -36.7 m de profondeur. Sur une periode de 12 mois, ces 39 stations ont montre dans l'ensemble une regression de faible ampleur.

SSS adalah salah satu instrumen SONAR yang terspesialisasi untuk mendeteksi dasar laut. Instrumen ini biasa digunakan dalam survei hidrografi, khususnya pemetaan dasar laut untuk tertentu seperti untuk keperluan pipa dan kabel bawah laut, dan deteksi objek lainnya.

Presentation: GEORGIOS PAPATHEODOROU, Professor in Geology, Director of Laboratory of Marine Geology and Physical Oceanography, University of Patras. Hellas

Work of Scientists : GEORGIOS PAPATHEODOROU,
GEORGE FERENTINOS, Professor Emeritus, Department of Geology, University of Patras. Hellas
MARIA GERAGA, Assistant Professor, Department of Geology, University of Patras. Hellas
DEMETRIOS CHRISTODOULOU, Ph.D., Department of Geology, University of Patras. Hellas
MARGARITA IATROU, Ph.D., Department of Geology, University of Patras. Hellas
ATHINA CHALARI, Ph.D., Department of Geology, University of Patras. Hellas
STAVROULA KORDELLA, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Geology, University of Patras. Hellas
ILIAS FAKIRIS, Ph.D., Department of Geology, University of Patras. Hellas
DESPOINA ZOURA, Ph.D. Candidate, Department of Geology, University of Patras. Hellas"

The archaeological objective of the mission was to try to locate the wreck site of the HMS Romney, a fourth grade ship-of-the-line that sunk during the 1707 Royal Navy disaster, with the ultimate goal of having the site legally protected under the UK’s Protection of Wrecks Act 1973 and subject to further archaeological study.

The exploration of oceans and sea beds is being made increasingly possible through the development of Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs). This is an activity that concerns the marine community and it must confront the existence of notable challenges. However, an automatic detecting and tracking system is the first and foremost element for an AUV or an aqueous surveillance network. In this paper a method of Kalman filter was presented to solve the problems of objects track in sonar images. Region of object was extracted by threshold segment and morphology process, and the features of invariant moment and area were analysed. Results show that the method presented has the advantages of good robustness, high accuracy and real-time characteristic, and it is efficient in underwater target track based on sonar images and also suited for the purpose of Obstacle avoidance for the AUV to operate in the constrained underwater environment.

We wrześniu 2019 roku zakończył się grant Narodowego Centrum Nauki, realizowany przez Wydział Humanistyczny US, a poświęcony interdyscyplinarnym badaniom wraków odrzańskich. Wykazały one, że Dolna Odra jest akwenem nadzwyczaj zasobnym w zatopione pamiątki przeszłości.

In the summer of 2018 two artefacts that appeared to be aircraft remains were trawled up from the seabed in Scapa Flow, Orkney.  The first, an engine, was photographed and returned to the seabed.  The second, an aluminium tank, was retained.  SULA Diving was commissioned by HES to undertake investigations of both objects.  Side scan sonar, remote video and diving surveys were carried out in spring 2019.  The engine was found to be a badly degraded Rolls Royce Merlin engine.  Serial numbers recorded during the dive survey showed that the engine belonged to a Hawker Hurricane aircraft (AF963) lost from the escort carrier HMS Biter when operating in Scapa Flow in October 1942.  The fuel tank was of an aluminium construction but of a design that did not match that of known aircraft loses in the Scapa Flow area.  Examination of the seabed where these objects were found identified several man-made objects but none appeared to be aircraft related.  Aircraft remains are likely to be affected by fishing and anchoring activity in Scapa Flow but coincidental discoveries like those detailed here may be the only way to learn more about these sites.

This study presents the results of a marine geophysical survey performed in the Igaliku fjord in southern Greenland in order to understand the harbour setting of the former Norse settlement Garðar (modern Igaliku). The aims of the survey were (a) to reconstruct the former coastline during the first centuries of the Norse settlement period (c. 11/12th centuries) and (b) to search for archaeological remains on the seabed connected to maritime traffic and trade. In order to approach these goals, we used an integrated marine survey system consisting of a side-scan sonar and a reflection seismic system. The system was designed for lightweight transport, allowing measurements in areas that are logistically difficult to access. The side-scan sonar data revealed no remains of clear archaeological origin. Bathymetric data from seismic seabed reflection and additional Differential GPS height measurements yielded a high-resolution bathymetric map. Based on estimates of Holocene relative sea le...

Wiosną 1945 roku dolny bieg Odry, Zalew Szczeciński oraz Zatoka Pomorska usiane były wrakami statków i okrętów, które zatonęły podczas działań wojennych. Wiele z nich spoczywa na dnie do dziś. Jaką rolę odgrywają one współcześnie jako elementy dziedzictwa i krajobrazu kulturowego Pomorza Zachodniego?

Report on the magnetometer, sidescan sonar and visual surveys in the areas of Warren Hastings reef and Berikat Rock, in the search for a wreck based on archival research. The main target for this survey was to try to locate the “Fingal”, an American ship reported as lost in this location in 1816. As a result, a wreck was found but not identified as the “Fingal”.

In the Cedynia-Gozdowice-Siekierki Region of National Remembrance (Gryfino county, Poland) a wreck of a military boat was discovered in 2015. The boat was identified as an element of light pontoon bridge park NLP, used by Red Army and Polish People’s Army during World War II. The boat sank in Odra (Oder) river, probably during the fights with Nazi German troops in 1945.

Autorzy posteru przeprowadzili w sierpniu 2020 roku interdyscyplinarne badania 12 wraków, zlokalizowanych i zinwentaryzowanych wcześniej w ramach grantu Narodowego Centrum Nauki nr 2018/02/X/HS3/00475. Tytułowe badania były częścią szerzej zakrojonych prac naukowych, których celem jest opracowanie metody geoklasyfikacji ferromagnetycznych obiektów dennych na podstawie mapy anomalii magnetycznej danego akwenu. Zrealizowano je przy użyciu sprzętu pomiarowego Akademii Morskiej w Szczecinie (batymetrycznego systemu interferometrycznego, sonaru holowanego i magnetometru protonowego) oraz jednostki pływającej „Hydrograf XXI”. Wyniki wykonanych pomiarów dostarczyły wielu nowych danych, co przyczyniło się do lepszego poznania zasobów podwodnego dziedzictwa kulturowego rzeki Odry. Zebrane dane zostaną także wykorzystane w projekcie „MORGAV: Opracowanie technologii pozyskiwania danych grawimetrycznych przybrzeża polskich obszarów morskich oraz jego pobrzeża” (finansowanego w ramach Programu Operacyjnego Inteligentny Rozwój 2014-2020, nr umowy POIR.04.01.04-00-0080/17-00).

Autorzy artykułu na pokładzie jednostki badawczej „Hydrograf XXI” przemierzyli dolną Odrę szlakiem zatopionych statków i… samochodów. W trakcie rejsów przeprowadzono badania hydrograficzne i geofizyczne dwunastu wraków, w celu opracowania innowacyjnej metody geoklasyfikacji obiektów dennych na podstawie map anomalii magnetycznej akwenów. Użycie profesjonalnych systemów pomiarowych pozwoliło też lepiej poznać zasoby podwodnego dziedzictwa kulturowego Pomorza Zachodniego.

On the right bank of the Oder River, over a dozen kilometres downstream of Kostrzyn nad Odrą (Lubusz Land, Poland), lies the ‘Porzecze’ Landscape-Nature Protected Complex (West Pomerania, Poland). It encompasses floodplains, marshes, meadows, riparian forests, and sandy dunes inhabited by rare species of plants and animals. At the beginning of the previous decade the divers penetrating one of the local oxbow lakes had discovered a wreck of a flat-bottomed, iron vessel, about five metres long. The find had been interpreted as a German cargo boat from the first half of the 20th century and had not attracted any major attention of neither museum curators nor scientists. In 2016 scholars and students from the University of Szczecin (West Pomerania, Poland), together with a diving expert from the NUREK–TECHNIKA Company have thoroughly reinvestigated the wreck, taking side-scan sonar images and measurements. It has become possible to correctly identify the wreck as a frontal semi-pontoon ...

Raport końcowy z poszukiwań przeprowadzonych w listopadzie i grudniu 2020 roku, napisany na użytek Wojewódzkiego Urzędu Ochrony Zabytków w Zielonej Górze – Delegatury w Gorzowie Wielkopolskim, placówek Państwowego Gospodarstwa Wodnego Wody Polskie (Regionalnych Zarządów Gospodarki Wodnej w Szczecinie, Poznaniu i Wrocławiu oraz Zarządów Zlewni w Gorzowie Wielkopolskim i Zielonej Górze), a także Urzędu Żeglugi Śródlądowej w Szczecinie. 27 stron, 5 fotografii, 7 sonogramów, mapa, tabela i załącznik.

Wrak Szczecin Zdroje 1 (SZD1), spoczywający w Regalicy, od lat budził zainteresowanie badaczy podwodnego dziedzictwa archeologicznego. Podjęte w latach 2010-2019 prospekcje przy użyciu sonarów (stacjonarnego i bocznego) oraz echosondy interferometrycznej nie pozwalały bowiem zidentyfikować typu zatopionego statku, ani dokładnie rozpoznać jego detali widocznych na zobrazowaniach. Autorzy we wrześniu 2019 roku ponownie przebadali wrak, wykorzystując jednak inne urządzenie hydrolokacyjne – podwodną kamerę akustyczną ARIS, umożliwiającą rejestrację przestrzeni podwodnej w sposób analogiczny do kamery optycznej, ale nie wymagającą naturalnego ani sztucznego oświetlenia. Badania wykonano z pokładu statku szkoleniowo-badawczego „Echo 2”, którego armatorem jest spółka ESCORT. Na podstawie ich wyników nie tylko zidentyfikowano typ zatopionego statku, dokładnie rozpoznano jego detale konstrukcyjne i ogólny stan zachowania, lecz także sformułowano hipotezę dotyczącą przyczyn zatonięcia jednostki.

The interdisciplinary project "Underwater Ethnoarchaeology of the Lower Oder. Preliminary Research on Wrecks in Selected Sections of the River" (grant no. 2018/02/X/HS3/00475 funded by the National Science Centre, Poland) was concluded in September 2019. It consisted of gathering information about the wrecks during ethnological fieldwork and then verifying them, using techniques typical for underwater archaeology. The main goal of the project was to recognize the potential of the resources of underwater cultural heritage in the lower course of the Oder. During the ethnological research, 102 wrecks were located and registered. On this basis, three sites with the highest number of wrecks were distinguished. Then, non-invasive underwater archaeological research was undertaken at these three sites. A team, consisting of commercial divers and an archaeologist, took measurements and made basic documentation of 14 selected wrecks. The results of the project demonstrated the efficiency of the applied research method (called ‘underwater ethnoarchaeology’), as well as remarkable abundance and diversity of anthropogenic objects sunk in the Lower Oder. Moreover, the collected data allowed to conduct further, hydrographic and geophysical research on other 13 wrecks, which took place in September 2019 and August 2020 – their results will be presented in two other posters at this seminar.

The Vancouver Fraser Port Authority, or Port Metro Vancouver (PMV), is contending with being a prosperous and active port while mitigating and resolving key anthropogenic threats to listed whale populations from species at risk assessments (SARA). They are addressing issues in terms of quantifiable reductions in shipping traffic noise, ship strike, and environmental contamination effects on Cetacean species to meet their definition of sustainability. The PVM spearhead Enhancing Cetacean Habitat and Observation (ECHO) program definition of sustainability is a sustainable port delivers economic prosperity through trade, maintains a healthy environment, and enables thriving communities through collective accountability, meaningful dialogue and shared aspirations. Its program structure is aiding it as it is taking a leadership role in contending with predicted regional shipping activity increases by collecting datasets proactively to protect the species and to promote the ports success. They are utilizing a collaborative research and management coordination strategy for federal-academic-private consultation for networking, study, and response.

This thesis assesses the application and effectiveness of consumer-grade sonar instruments for documenting inundated archaeological sites across Northwestern Ontario. Although the use of bathymetry and side scan sonar is commonly used by marine archaeologists, the acquisition of such data can be extremely costly, while also cumbersome in shallow water environments. Many Northwestern Ontario lakes and rivers have complicated histories involving both human-made and natural lake-level changes that have degraded and inundated shorelines containing archaeological resources. Four case studies throughout the Thunder Bay region were assessed using an inexpensive hull-mounted sonar system to test whether the instruments provide sufficient precision and resolution for further archaeological investigations.

On the right bank of the Oder River, over a dozen kilometres downstream of Kostrzyn nad Odrą (Lubusz Land, Poland), lies the ‘Porzecze’ Landscape-Nature Protected Complex (West Pomerania, Poland).  It encompasses floodplains, marshes, meadows, riparian forests, and sandy dunes inhabited by rare species of plants and animals. At the beginning of the previous decade the divers penetrating one of the local oxbow lakes had discovered a wreck of a flat-bottomed, iron vessel, about five metres long. The find had been interpreted as a German cargo boat from the first half of the 20th century and had not attracted any major attention of neither museum curators nor scientists.
In 2016 scholars and students from the University of Szczecin (West Pomerania, Poland), together with  a diving expert from the NUREK–TECHNIKA Company have thoroughly reinvestigated the wreck, taking side-scan sonar images and measurements. It has become possible to correctly identify the wreck as a frontal semi-pontoon of the Soviet N2P heavy pontoon-bridge park (Russian: тяжёлый понтонный парк Н2П).  It was a mobile set of military engineering equipment designed for construction of ferries and floating bridges, introduced to the Red Army service in 1932. The watercraft has sunk or has been sunken during the fights along the Oder River, clashes between the Red Army and the armed forces of Nazi Germany  in winter and spring of 1945. The wreckis preserved in a good condition (hull framing is complete,  and the plating has negligible losses), though all removable parts are missing.
The wreck, now examined and documented, is currently the only known specimen of this type of a semi- -pontoon in Poland. It remains an interesting, yet hardly accessible element of cultural heritage of the Oder Valley, enriching natural assets of the ‘Porzecze’ Landscape-Nature Protected Complex.

The project ‘Underwater Ethnoarchaeology of the Lower Oder. Preliminary Research of Shipwrecks in the Selected Sections of the River’ is funded by the National Science Centre, Poland (grant no. 2018/02/X/HS3/00475) and carried by the University of Szczecin (West Pomerania, Poland) in the time period of 2018–2019. It assumes application of information gathered during ethnological fieldwork for the use of underwater archaeology.
During structured interviews with representatives of social groups related by occupation or hobby to the Lower Oder (e.g. seamen, fishermen, divers, anglers, sailors etc.) the data concerning any known wrecks is being gathered – along with the broad context: spatial (localization, position, orientation) and socio-cultural (toponymy, beliefs, convictions of types and provenience of sunken watercrafts). On this basis sections of the river were selected, with the highest number of located wreck sites. These areas were prospected with the use of side-scan sonar and an unmanned aerial vehicle (UAV). The next stage of research (for now yet unaccomplished) is the elaboration of bathymetric maps. The spatial analysis of the data gathered this way will be used to designate areas for underwater archaeological research. It will consist of making the photographic and video documentation during diving reconnaissance, and then descriptive and graphic documentation of selected wreck sites.
The results of the ethnological fieldwork allowed determining not only the areas where wrecks are located, but also their socio-cultural context – how they are functioning in the consciousness of people residing by the Lower Oder. On the other hand, the results of archaeological fieldwork will enable to verify the accuracy of convictions and beliefs regarding shipwrecks, and also determine the scope and methods of further research upon discovered underwater archaeological sites.

In May 2016, a possible wreck site was discovered by accident during survey work being carried out near the island of Fara in Scapa Flow, Orkney. Subsequent investigation by side scan sonar revealed a discrete wreck site in approximately 27m water depth. A survey of the site by divers was made in August 2016.

In August 2020 the authors realized an interdisciplinary survey of 12 wrecks located and registered earlier, as a part of a project "Underwater Ethnoarchaeology of the Lower Oder. Preliminary Research on Wrecks in Selected Sections of the River" (grant no. 2018/02/X/HS3/00475, National Science Centre, Poland). The hydrographers from the Maritime University of Szczecin and the ethnologist from the University of Szczecin established co-operation in this regard. The survey was a part of the research on the geoclassification method of the anthropogenic ferrous underwater objects, on the basis of magnetic anomaly maps. Data acquisition involved recording data with an interferometric echosounder, side-scan sonar, and marine magnetometer. The survey was done by the research vessel "Hydrograf XXI". The results provided new datasets of examined wrecks. It also contributed to a better understanding of the underwater cultural heritage resources of the Oder River. Moreover, collected data was used to create a catalogue of underwater ferromagnetic objects, which is the basis for the geoclassification method. The collected hydrographic data will also be used in the project "MORGAV: Development of Technology Acquisition and Exploration of Gravimetric Data of Foreshore and Seashore of Polish Maritime Areas" (National Centre for Research and Development, Smart Growth Operational Programme 2014–2020, competition: 1/4.1.4/2018).

Les nouvelles technologies sont de plus en plus utilisés dans la prospection des sites archéologiques subaquatiques. Localisation, documentation, et étude, chaque étape nécessite l’utilisation de moyens techniques très développés, et en même temps, qui sont de plus en plus accessibles.  Nous allons, à travers notre intervention, présenter les techniques de prospection acoustique, plus précisément les sondeurs, dont différentes technologies ont étés développés au cours des dernières années. Nous allons aussi, présenter des cas d’études, que nous avons réalisés lors de nos missions archéologiques effectué en 2020.

Autor posteru był w latach 2018-2019 osobą realizującą działanie naukowe pt. Etnoarcheologia podwodna Dolnej Odry. Wstępne badania wraków na wybranych odcinkach rzeki (grant Narodowego Centrum Nauki nr 2018/02/X/HS3/00475). Polegało ono na zebraniu informacji o tytułowych wrakach podczas etnologicznych badań terenowych, a następnie ich zweryfikowaniu przy użyciu technik stosowanych w archeologii podwodnej. Głównym celem rzeczonego działania było rozpoznanie potencjału zasobów podwodnego dziedzictwa kulturowego (w tym archeologicznego) w dolnym biegu rzeki Odry. W wyniku przeprowadzonych badań etnologicznych zlokalizowano łącznie 102 wraki i wyróżniono 3 największe ich skupiska: w Odrze Zachodniej, Odrze Wschodniej i Kanale Kluckim. Na owych trzech wrakowiskach podjęto następnie podwodne badania archeologiczne – zespół składający się z zawodowych nurków i archeologa przebadał łącznie 14 wraków. Poster prezentuje prace wykonane w ramach grantu oraz ich wybrane rezultaty.

Over the last ten years, the high-resolution marine geophysical survey field has witnessed significant advances in survey investigation equipment. New equipments are addressed towards the use of quantitative acoustic methods for the high-resolution mapping of the seafloor for archaeological heritage management. In particular, side-scan sonar and sub bottom profiler are been tested in Syracuse areas, especially in Porto Grande, about a project led under the supervision of the Sea Superintendence of Palermo and in collaboration with Aurora Trust, Malta and Pharos s.a.s., Milan. Generally, this high-resolution equipments are becoming affordable for use on archeological projects thanks to the high accuracy of the measures, the high spatial resolution, the repeatability of the results and the possibility to integrate the data with other scientific ones. In addition of this, through the use of geographic information system (GIS), quantitative results are stored in digital format for post-survey processing. Side-Scan Sonar system is applied to survey the morphology of the seafloor. This system identifies the different type of seafloor (such as sand, rocks, mud, posidonia, and so on) and objects eventually dispersed on the seafloor (such as wreck). The system is based on the different backscattering given by various material and lithotype and it records the backscattering data through a digital technology that gives back high-resolution images. Finally, the individual side-scan strips can be joined together to obtain a side-scan mosaic of the surveyed region through SonarWizMap software. Sub bottom profiler allows to identifying the litho-stratigrafic sequence of the seafloor and it is based on the different sound speed through the sediments. The penetration and the reflection of the backscattering depend from the physics characteristics of the material surveyed and from signal power and frequency. The backscattering impulses are recorded by the same echosounder that transmits the signal. The system uses the digital Chirp technology to create high-resolution images. On the surveyed area it’s usually realized a mesh of strips, in relation to the accuracy required. The two systems (sub bottom profiler and side-scan sonar) can be used together to have an exact correlation of the areal and depth information. Keywords: side scan sonar, sub bottom profiler, marine archaeological surveys.

This thesis assesses the application and effectiveness of consumer-grade sonar instruments for documenting inundated archaeological sites across Northwestern Ontario. Although the use of bathymetry and side scan sonar is commonly used by marine archaeologists, the acquisition of such data can be extremely costly, while also cumbersome in shallow water environments. Many Northwestern Ontario lakes and rivers have complicated histories involving both human-made and natural lake-level changes that have degraded and inundated shorelines containing archaeological resources. Four case studies throughout the Thunder Bay region were assessed using an inexpensive hull-mounted sonar system to test whether the instruments provide sufficient precision and resolution for further archaeological investigations.

the paper presents the way submerged artefacts may be investigated, started from the sonar image. When the sonar highlights only an anomaly, the research must imply diving at the site; instead, when the sonar image is a good one, before diving at the site, image processing can be used to determine the shape or to obtain a 3D model of the artefact.

Die gegenwärtigen Polen assoziieren die Oder meistens mit dem Westen und mit der Grenze der Deutschland. Die Ostoder passt zu diesem stereotypen Bild überhaupt nicht, denn sie trägt im Namen die entgegengesetzte Himmelsrichtung und hat keinen grenzüberschreitenden Charakter. Sie ist auch aus vielen anderen Gründen ein einzigartiger Fluss, beispielsweise wegen ihrem reichen Natur- und Kulturerbe. In den Tiefen des Flusses befinden sich viele materielle Spuren der Vergangenheit - Wracks von Booten, Schiffen und Fahrzeugen, die aus verschiedenen geschichtlichen Zeiten stammen. Der Text ist der erste Versuch einer ganzheitlichen, synthetischen Bearbeitung der Objekte, die das Unterwasserkulturerbe der Ostoder bilden. Beschrieben wurden sowohl die bereits aus dem Fluss geborgenen Wracks, als auch diejeningen, die immer noch auf dem Flussboden ruhen. Die Bearbeitung entstand im Rahmen des iterdisziplinären Projekts "Unterwasserethnoarchäologie der Unteroder. Leitforschungen auf gewählten Flussstrecken" (Grant des Nationalen Wissenschaftzentrums Nr 2018/02/X/HS3/00475).