The impact of varying seafloor topographies, and object geometries on resolution for multibeam echosounders and multi-angle swath bathymetry systems

Resolution and uncertainty in a multibeam echosounder are determined by the geometry of the acoustics, and the water depth. These same variables in a multi-angle swath bathymetry system are constrained by the acoustic pulse duration, and also the water depth. The physical geometry of sensors like a multibeam echosounder may have difficulty detecting linear objects oriented along the beam axis. Variations in the seafloor topography affect both the angle of ensonification and the incident acoustic pulse duration. The analysis described in this paper evaluates the relative merits of a multibeam echosounder and a multi-angle swath bathymetry system in terms of resolution and uncertainty with varying seafloor topographies and object orientations and geometries.