Seabed properties analysis from multibeam backscatter data

Acoustic classification of seabed using multibeam echosounder data has a range of applications and processing methodologies to create seabed models. The main focus on this paper is to achieve a reliable model of seabed grain size distribution. Multibeam backscatter data from Kongsberg EM3000 was analyzed on CARIS HIPS and SIPS software with Geocoder engine. This algorithm uses angular analysis to generate seabed model. Each patch defined by software user is analyzed for port and starboard side and as final results it gives not only the seabed grain size distribution but also properties such as velocity, loss, density, roughness, volume and impedance. Data was acquired on a glaciomarine environment, which represents a major challenge on defining seabed grain size distribution. As a final result, all final data given by Geocoder algorithm were correlated on Matlab to evaluate reliability of properties distribution on seabed.