SHALLOW WATER OBJECT DETECTION AND LOCALIZATION THROUGH ACOUSTIC BACKSCATTER FROM PHASE-MEASURING SIDESCAN SONAR

Coastal waters are crucial to the socio-economic activities of humans, as well as to the health of our global oceans. Unfortunately, they have also long been a dumping ground with an ‘out of sight, out of mind’ mentality. Remote object detection in shallow water coastal environments is becoming increasingly important in the maintenance and restoration of these critical habitats. Detection and localization techniques are being developed around the use of the EdgeTech 6205 Phase-Measuring Sidescan Sonar (PMSS). This instrument offers a unique look into the seafloor because of its ability to simultaneously collect co-located sidescan and bathymetric data in extreme shallow water environments (<1m). This talk will highlight preliminary and ongoing analyses from a project that aims to use the acoustic reflectivity backscatter to detect, locate, and differentiate between various objects on the seafloor, including unexploded ordinance (UXO), and placed marine debris such as derelict lobster pots, boat propellers, and car tires. The differentiation will occur through various statistical analysis methods, such as multinomial logistic regression. These methods will be applied to create linear regression models for various parameters such as object orientation, vessel heading, vessel speed, distance from nadir, backscatter amplitude, etc. If successful, these models could be applied to collected bathymetric data from many systems such as multibeam echo sounders used throughout the world for rapid object detection and localization. This could help improve the health and wellbeing of coastal habitats and waterways in these dynamic and heavily-used environments.