About the investigation method of the present situation of coral reef at present, the main choice is scuba diving investigation no matter domestic and foreign countries. Take the coral reef of physical examination in Taiwan as example, divers use transects as basic methods to calculate the coverage rate of coral reef and characteristic of the seabed environment and to survey specific fish and quantity of the invertebrate in order to judge the influence that the human activity causes to the coral reef. In above-mentioned methods can really make full and accurate investigation to the coral reef of monitor area, so the method has already been adopted and walked for many years by the domestic and international relevant organization. But its shortcomings are slower investigating speed and lack accurate fixed position methods, and the divers also have hiding danger. However, some characteristics of side-scan sonar system just can mend the weak points of them. For the speed of investigating, our side-scan sonar's survey range can reach the belt area of hundred meters wide in both route sides, so it can substantially improve the speed of investigating. For the accuracy of fixed position, the side-scan sonar system match to GPS can obtain certain longitude and latitude of targets¡]the precision about 10 m¡^. So, this research is using side-scan sonar system to survey the seabed around LIU-CHIEU YU¡]the survey area about 2.6 km2¡^, the steps contain: mapping the distribute condition¡]sand, mud and rock¡^of seabed bottom, then identifying growing coral reef of rocky area, final assessing its feasibility by the process and result of survey. The ultimate purpose is an attempt to provide a new method for coral reef survey. The result of study shows: the seabed bottom around LIU-CHIEU YÜ can be divided into several parts by the difference of acoustics reflectivity. Among them, coral reef covers maximum area, and the area can reach to 1,133,670m2¡]46.4% of effective survey area¡^. In the part of identifying growing coral reef in the acoustics image, this study compares with optics images of TOV and acoustics images of side-scan sonar to establish the characteristics of growing coral reef in the acoustics image. Among them, the tree-like corals have some characteristics about high backscatter, individual risings, tree-like figures and acoustics shadows, unregulated reflection surfaces and complicated color tones in the reflection surface, but the cover-form reefs do not have tree-like figures and acoustics shadows. Then, using the above-mentioned characteristics to identify survey area seabed shows¡GThe cover area of growing coral reef is 547,438 m2¡]22.4% of effective survey area¡^, and the growing coral reef distributes in the southwest, southern and eastern sea area of LIU-CHIEU YÜ. And the optics images of the TOV shows the growth state of growing coral reef in the southeast sea area is superior to the southwest sea area, Finally, assessed by the process and result of this research, basically it is feasible to map the distribute condition of growing coral reef by side-scan sonar system.

Recovery of unattached offshore facilities or missing equipments is a challenging activity. Generally speaking, this activity involves a comprehensive procedure which includes: target characterization, searching, detection, verification, locating, reacquisition and salvage. Among them, target searching and detection are the most critical components of the whole procedure. The purpose of this investigation was dedicated in discussing the efficiency by the application of side-scan sonar, magnetometer and sub-bottom profiler simultaneously in searching, detecting, identifying and locating underwater stationary targets. Procedures of this research include: 1. Discussing the capabilities of instruments and verification cruises on target. 2. Discussing the salvage activity we conducted off Kaohsiung harbor on a depleted anchor. 3. Estimating the practicability of the methodology. According to the characteristics of these apparatus, the water depth, collected by echo sounder, is capable of expressing the relief of the seabed. Seabed sonographs, recorded by side-scan sonar, show that it is feasible to detect, verify and locate targets on the seabed. Sub-bottom profiler provides the sub-surface sedimentary information which can be used to detect buried targets. Magnetometer can detect environmental magnetic intensities, which can locate and determine the size of ferrous targets. Two depleted anchors were recorded off Kaohsiung harbor on the navigation chart. A recovery plan was then arranged which included 4 phases: collection of anchor characteristics, initial field survey and target detection, target verification and locating, target recovery. The underwater searching equipment employed in this activity include: side-scan sonar, sub-bottom profiler, magnetometer, echo sounder, underwater positioning system (include GPS), remotely operated vehicle (ROV) and professional divers. The offshore working platform used in this activity was R/V Ocean Research#3. Results of the initial search phase by side-scan sonar indicated there was only one potential target in the searching area. Follow up verification cruises confirmed acoustically that the target was an anchor with a piece of chain clogged on a block. The results of this investigation included the information such as the dimensions and the location of the anchor. Furthermore, the reason which caused the anchor being abandoned on the seafloor was derived. For underwater ferrous targets, such as anchor and chain cable, all of the aforementioned apparatus, have good potential for their detection and verification. It can be concluded that, applying these apparatus simultaneously can more effectively conduct searching, detecting, identifying and locating underwater stationary targets than by the application of a single instrument such as side-scan sonar system. Optical verifications of this target by ROV were attempted, nevertheless, were not success due to the difficulties in maneuvering OR#3 into proper position. An attempt to recovery this target by divers was arranged. But due to bad weather and rough sea state, the divers were not even allowed to dive. However, according to the experiences collected, a target reacquisition and recovery facility was built to fulfill the necessity of guiding divers to the target and lift it.

Along Sweden’s east coast there are thousands of well-preserved shipwrecks after an extensive shipping that stretches far back in history. The Baltic Sea is a unique sea in the sense that the ship worm Teredo Navalis cannot live here, which means that the ship’s timber is well preserved under water. But we have little knowledge how many these wrecks are and where they are located. No comprehensive underwater inventory like those made on land has even been made. Therefore, these shipwrecks are threatened with destruction by our ignorance of them. By scanning water areas in our immediate environment with Side scan sonar technology, our state of knowledge can be significantly improved. With this method, these relics can be found and preserved as far as possible for future generations. The wrecks can also be used for recreation and experience activities.

The purpose of this study was to integrate the principles of marine geotechnical engineering, underwater acoustic and optical observation techniques into studying the distribution of seafloor sediments and engineering stability of artificial reefs off Yong-an Harbor, Kaohsiung County, south-western coast of Taiwan. The artificial reefs were deployed to the testing site in November 9th, 1996. The goal of this study was intended to describe the engineering status of this reef site and to investigate whether these reefs were moved and buried or not; as well as, to predict whether additional reefs should be deployed to this site in the future. Long-term monitoring of underwater targets was conducted by using of side-scan sonar system, echo sounder, sub-bottom profiler, and underwater video camera. The utility of side-scan sonar system was to depict the topography and terrain features of the seabed. The other equipments were used to complement and cross correlate the results of side-scan sonar observations. In this study, wave forces against reef were estimated by Morison¡¦s equation(ex. Huang, 1995), scouring depth was calculated by Silvester¡¦s experience equation (Silvester, 1974), and the settlement of reefs by theoretical consolidation equation(ex. Das, 1990). The topography of Yung-an reef site is generally gentle and monotonous. The major texture of surficial sediments in this site was sandy silt, and some gravel was distributed at the southern part of the site. In terms of the stability on the artificial reefs project, Typhoon was the main factor which causes the reef to slide or roll. Verified by theoretical analysis and monitoring, the study area of the original stacked reefs has tumbled during the research period, while the remaining non-stacked reef shows insignificant displacement and quantity of the settlement found no cases being buried. To sum up, Yong-an artificial reef district in Kaohsiung county, respectively as A, B, C; the stacked reef under normal condition has found no significant reef being buried and moving traces and artificial reefs can fully elaborate by the gathers of the fish. According to the viewpoint of this project , "Direct contact with the reef and the body of the sea-bed " both the forces of the waves and ocean currents when a typhoon strikes is not easy for the reefs to glide. The "stacked reef" which causes the reef to slide or roll when typhoon occurs was caused by both the forces of the waves and ocean currents. "Direct contact with the reef and the body of the sea-bed " in the case of wave period of 10 sec, analysis shows that the wave height must be greater than 5.8 m in order to make the reef slide. "Stacked reef" in the case of wave period of 10 sec, analysis shows that the wave height must be greater than 4.5 m in order to make the reef roll.

In recent years, ocean has become a place to dispose of industrial and civil waste waters. Hence, there are more and more projects to establish offshore outflow pipes. These underwater pipes should be kept monitored in order to maintain their functions specifically. The purpose of this research was to explore the two outflow pipes in Kaohsiung offshore area, i.e., Chung-chou outflow pipe and Tso-ying outflow pipe, by using an integrated surveying system which includes a side-scan sonar and a sub-bottom profiler. The ultimate objective was to investigate the feasibility of this system in searching and positioning of buried underwater pipelines. Based on this investigation, the offshore section of Chung-chou outflow pipe is about 2.8km in length and extends offshore to the direction of 38o from the west to the south. The water depth at the end of this pipe is about 21m. Among the 2.24km section initiated at the offshore end of the pipe, the buried depths are between 2.2m and 3.2m. There are two disposed gravel zones around the offshore end of the pipe. The first zone is about 130m in length and 10m wide. The second zone is 220m in length and 20m wide. Moreover, based on the side scan sonar images, there are 71 protective concrete blocks located around Chung-chou outflow pipe. The offshore section of Tsao-ying outflow pipe is about 4.76 km in length and extends to the direction of 20o from the west to the south. The water depth at the end of this pipe is about 17m. Among the 3.7km section initiated at the offshore end of the pipe, the buried depths are about 1.0 to 2.5m. A disposed gravel zone with dimensions of 330m in length and 10m wide is located at the end of this pipe. In addition, there are 43 protective blocks located around this outflow pipe. This investigation, incorporated the results conducted on the other three underwater outflow pipes(i.e., Chishui creek outflow pipe, Chinese Petroleum Corporation underwater petroleum pipe off Kaohsiung Harbor and Liuchiuyu water transport pipe), concluded that as far as the buried underwater pipes that are thicker than 1m in diameter are concerned, the integrated system of side scan sonar and sub-bottom profiler provides an useful and trustful tool to get the locations and the buried depth of outflow pipes, as well as the distribution of the protective concrete blocks around these pipes. As to the pipes that are less than 20cm in diameter, the pipes can¡¦t be detected by this equipment. For the pipes that are between 20cm and 1m in diameter, due to limited information collected up to this moment, extensive investigation need to be conducted until a clear understanding can be deduced.

Underwater static targets are objects under the water that can¡¦t move autonomously. Apparatus feasible for detecting underwater static targets includes: optics, acoustics and geophysical instruments. The purpose of this research is discussing the efficiency of applying side-scan sonar, magnetometer, sub-bottom profiler and echo sounder simultaneously to search, detect, identify and locate underwater static targets. Procedures of this research include: 1. Discussing the capabilities of instruments and identification principles on target. 2. Using a real case to groundtruth target identification principles. 3. Assessing the superiority of the methodology. According to the characteristics of these apparatus, the water depth, collected by echo sounder, is capable of expressing the relief of the seabed. Seabed sonographs, recorded by side-scan sonar, show that it is feasible to detect, identify and locate targets on the seabed. Sub-bottom profiler provides the sub-surface sedimentary information which can be used to detect buried targets. Magnetometer can detect environmental magnetic intensities, which can locate and determine the size of ferrous targets. Analysis of the data collected at Hai-Köu Wan, Ping-Dong County yields following conclusions: 1. The water depth data, recorded per 15 meters by the echo sounder, is capable of detecting large targets and concentrated artificial reefs only. 2. Sonographs obtained by side-scan sonar show target¡¦s characteristics and location on seabed. It can be utilized to identifying targets and mapping targets distributions. 3. Sub-bottom profile graphs show the composition and thickness of sub-surface sediments. 4. Magnetic anomalies show that there are evident variations around the battle-ship reef or concentrated electric-pole reefs on the research area. It represents that the magnetometer is capable in detecting underwater ferrous targets. 5. Targets detecting rate and identifying accuracy can be increased by the mutual comparison of various information. By applying the technique established in this research and the survey results at Hai-Köu Wan, targets at the survey site can be identified and located precisely. There are about 1100 units of 2-m concrete reefs, 670 units of electric-pole reefs and a battle-ship reef at Hai-Köu Wan. It can be concluded that, applying echo-sounder, side-scan sonar system, sub-bottom profiler and magnetometer simultaneously can search, detect, identify and locate underwater static targets more effective than applying a single instrument such as side-scan sonar system.

Simpson Bay is a turbid, outwash fjord located in northeastern Prince William Sound, Alaska. A high ratio of watershead:basin surface area combined with high precipitation and an easily erodable catchment create high sediment inputs. Fresh water from heavy precipitation and meltwater from high alpine glaciers enter Simpson Bay through bay head rivers and small shoreline creeks that drain the catchment. Side scan sonar, seismic profiling, and high resolution bathymetry were used to investigate the record of modern sedimentary processes. Four bottom types and two seismic faces were described to delineate the distribution of sediment types and sedimentary processes in Simpson Bay. Sonar images showed areas of high backscatter (coarse grain sediment, bedrock outcrops and shorelines) in shallow areas and areas of low backscatter (estuarine mud) in deeper areas. Seismic profiles showed that high backscatter areas reflected emergent glacial surfaces while low backscatter areas indicated modern estuarine mud deposition. The data show terminal morainal bank systems and grounding line deposits at the mouth of the bay and rocky promontories, relict medial moraines, that extend as terrestrial features through the subtidal and into deeper waters. Tidal currents and mass wasting are the major influences on sediment distribution. Hydrographic data showed high spatial variability in surface and bottom currents throughout the bay. Bottom currents are tide dominated, and are generally weak (5-20 cm s-1) in the open water portions of the bay while faster currents are found associated with shorelines, outcrops, and restrictive sills. Tidal currents alone are not enough to cause the lack of estuarine mud deposition in shallow areas. Bathymetric data showed steep slopes throughout the bay suggesting sediment gravity flows. Central Alaska is a seismically active area, and earthquakes are most likely the triggering mechanism of the gravity flows.

Knowledge of surface sediment distribution in Galveston Bay is important because it allows us to better understand how the bay works and how human activities impact the bay and its ecosystems. In this project, six areas of bay bottom were surveyed using acoustic techniques to make maps of bay bottom types and to investigate the types and extent of anthropogenic impacts. A total of 31 km2 was surveyed in six areas, one in Bolivar Roads (6.1 km2), one near Redfish Bar (3.1 km2), two in East Bay (12 km2), one southeast of the Clear Lake entrance (5.3 km2), and one in Trinity Bay (4.3 km2). Sidescan sonars (100 kHz and 600 kHz) were used to image the bay bottom, and a chirp sonar (2-12 kHz) was used to image subsurface sediment layers and bottom topography. In the side-scan records, objects as small as a few meters in extent were visible, whereas the chirp sonar records show a vertical resolution of a few tens of centimeters. The sidescan images display strong backscatter in some areas due to coarse sediments in addition to weak backscatter in areas of fine sediment. The bay bottom was classified using three levels of sonar backscatter ranging from high to low. Areas of differing sonar backscatter intensity were sampled with cores and grab-samples. High backscatter corresponded to coarse shell debris and oyster reefs, medium backscatter corresponded to a sand-silt-shell mixture, and low backscatter corresponded to silty loam. Chirp sonar records were classified as one of nine different bottom reflection types based on changes in amplitude and stratigraphy. Parallel, layered sediments are seen filling the bay valley and resting atop a sharp contact at which the acoustic signal fades out. Along the flanks of the valley fill the acoustic response revealed an absent or weakly laminated stratigraphy, whereas areas of high oyster productivity produced mounds, strong surface returns, and strong, shallow subsurface reflectors surrounding current oyster reefs. Anthropogenic features imaged with the sonar included sediment disruptions, such as the ship channels, dredge holes, gouges, and trawl marks, as well as debris, such as submerged boats, pipes, and unidentified objects.

The advantages that a side-scan sonar can offer include large-scale survey areas and high-resolution imagery which can provide the detection and positioning of underwater targets effectively. The purpose of image analysis, classification and positioning in this research was presented by the development of an automated recognition and classification system based on sonographs collected off Kenting area. Major components of the system include gray level co-occurrence matrix method, Baysian classification and cluster analysis. The sonograph classified by the automated recognition and classification system was split into two stages. The first stage divided the seafloor into three categories: (1) Rocky seafloor. (2) Sandy seafloor. (3) Acoustic shadow seafloor. Based on the characteristics of the rocky seafloor, the rocky seafloor was subdivided into five types in the second stage: (1) Flank reef and small independent reef. (2) Smooth reef. (3) Small coral on reef. (4) Coral on independent reef. (5) Large coral on reef. Analysis and proof of the system was conducted by underwater photographs collected off Kenting area in August 4, to 6, 2004. The identification accuracy of the first stage can reach 93% in Shiniuzai area. The characteristic features selected in this research (i.e., entropy and homogeneity) for the classification of various coral reef seafloors was proved adequate and the results was described in map within a Geographic Information System in the second stage. The results of this research illustrated that the rocky area identified in Shiniuzai was 98,863 m2. Due to image resolution restrictions, only 62,199 m2 of the total rocky area could be defined and classified properly. Among them, the flank reef and small independent reef covered an area of 15,954 m2 (26.3%); the smooth reef covered 3,133 m2 (5.0%); the small coral on reef covered 8,021 m2 (12.8%); the coral on independent reef covered 25,504 m2 (40.7%) and the large coral on reef covered 9,587 m2 (15.3%). Key words:side scan sonar,coral reef,gray level co-occurrence matrix

Object detection and seafloor segmentation for conventional 2D side-scan sonar imagery is a well-investigated problem. However, due to recent advances in sensing technology, the side-scan sonar now produces a true 3D point cloud representation of the seafloor embedded with echo intensity. This creates a need to develop algorithms to process the incoming 3D data for applications such as object detection and segmentation, and an opportunity to leverage advances in 3D point cloud processing developed for terrestrial applications using optical sensors (e.g. LiDAR). A bottleneck in deploying 3D side-scan sonar sensors for online applications is attributed to the complexity in handling large amounts of data which requires higher memory for storing and processing data on embedded computers. The present research aims to improve data processing capabilities on-board autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs). A supervoxel-based framework for over-segmentation and object detection is proposed which reduces a dense point cloud into clusters of similar points in a neighborhood. Supervoxels extracted from the point cloud are then described using feature vectors which are computed using geometry, echo intensity and depth attributes of the constituent points. Unsupervised density based clustering is applied on the feature space to detect objects which appear as outliers. / Master of Science / Acoustic imaging using side-scan sonar sensors has proven to be useful for tasks like seafloor mapping, mine countermeasures and habitat mapping. Due to advancements in sensing technology, a novel type of side-scan sonar sensor is developed which provides true 3D representation of the seafloor along with the echo intensity image. To improve the usability of the novel sensors on-board the carrying vehicles, efficient algorithms needs to be developed. In underwater robotics, limited computational and data storage capabilities are available which poses additional challenges in online perception applications like object detection and segmentation. In this project, I investigate a clustering based approach followed by an unsupervised machine learning method to perform detection of objects on the seafloor using the novel side scan sonar. I also show the usability of the approach for performing segmentation of the seafloor.