Seafloor exploration with parametric sonar systems: current issues and challenges for underwater vehicles

Current progress towards detailed identification of seafloor upper strata models by analysing the backscatter data from a parametric sonar instrument are revised. The algorithm proposed and the experimental procedures normally employed, though already acceptable for a wide range of applications in shallow water, do suffer from limitations that may prevent their use in deeper waters outside the continental shelf. It is argued that these limitations may be overcome if the data acquisition part were performed by an underwater platform. Requirements for the underwater vehicle mission are specified