ATLAS PARASOUND

Deep-Sea Parametric
Sub-Bottom Profiler

VIII SEPHC Cartagena, May 2008

Steffen Pausch

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 Content
1. ATLAS Hydrographic - company profile

2. Introduction to Sub-Bottom Profiling

3. ATLAS PARASOUND
Deep-Sea Parametric Sub-Bottom Profiler

4. Application Benefits
ATLAS PARASOUND Advantages

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 ATLAS Hydrographic
Picture from Nieder, Fritz.; Schroeder Willy:
Seevermessung - 25 Jahre im Deutschen
Hydrographischen Institut (1945-1970), DHI,
Hamburg 1971

■ Pioneer in echosounder
development

■ ATLAS DESO
■ ATLAS HYDROSWEEP
■ ATLAS FANSWEEP
■ ATLAS PARASOUND

Our Commitment
History
to Hydrography Since 1905

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 References

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Systems
Chile
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DESOs South Africa

Argentina

New Zealand

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 ATLAS Single-Beam Echosounders

ATLAS DESO 30 ATLAS DESO 35 ATLAS DESO 350 ATLAS DESO 300

Echosounder No. of Channels Recording Mode Approx. Depth Range[1]

ATLAS DESO 300 1 Paper 600 m

ATLAS DESO 30 2 Paper or Digital 6,000 m

ATLAS DESO 350 1 or 2 Digital 600 m

ATLAS DESO 350 M 2 Digital 1,500 m

ATLAS DESO 35 2 or 3 Digital 11,000 m

ATLAS DESO 350M [1]

Depending on chosen frequency and type of transducer.

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 ATLAS Single Beam Transducers

■ ATLAS Quality Transducers

■ 210 kHz ATLAS SW6014
■ 33 kHz ATLAS SW6028
■ Casings and accessories

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 ATLAS Multibeam Echosounder and Sub-Bottom Profiler

ATLAS FANSWEEP 20 ATLAS HYDROSWEEP MD/50 ATLAS PARASOUND

Max. depth: approx. 200 - 600 m Max. depth: approx. 2,000m Max. depth: approx. 11,000 m
Max. penetration: >200 m

ATLAS HYDROSWEEP MD/30 ATLAS HYDROSWEEP DS

Max. depth: approx. 6,000 m Max. depth: approx. 11,000 m

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 ATLAS IS3 - Integrated Survey Sensor System

■ Tailor made solutions

■ Well structured
modularity
■ Sub-Systems
 Administration
 Echosounders
 Auxiliary Sonars
 Synchronisation
 Auxiliary Sensors
 Post-Processing
 Sensor Network
■ Supports ATLAS
echosounders as well as
3rd party equipment

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 ATLAS Hydrographic provides…

• all kind of echo sounders,

• all acquisition and processing software

• wide range of different sensors from various manufactures

• turnkey solution by integration of all survey components

• consultancy for project management

• installation, commissioning, acceptance tests

• training for complete survey system

• service & support

… a total hydrographic solution!

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 Introduction to Marine Sub-Bottom Profiling
Typical application of sub-bottom profilers
■ Shallow water, shallow penetration, rapid sub-bottom studies
 Near shore construction site surveys (e.g. sea wall construction, coastal
protection)
 Near shore, inland sedimentation analysis (e.g. Elbe river, sedimentation in
Hamburg harbour and Elbe navigation channel)
 Dredging (e.g. volume calculation)
 Burried object detection
■ Deeper water, on-the-fly data collection
 Marine sedimentation processes for climate research (e.g. analysis of ocean
currents change)
 Sub-bottom stability prognoses (e.g. for cable laying)
 Search for gas hydrate deposits
 Pre-surveys for e.g. bottom sampling
 EEZ survey support, to find the foot of the continental slope

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 Introduction to Marine Sub-Bottom Profiling
Instruments for sub-bottom profiling
…depend on frequency of acoustic signal:
■ Echosounders
 To measure the water depth resolution and accuracy
 Compact in-a-box electronic, simple
acoustic transducer
 Frequency typically 12 to 210 kHz
■ Sub-bottom profilers
 To analyse sub-bottom structure and
layer thickness in highest resolution
 Larger electronic equipment
 Frequency typically 3 to 20 kHz
■ Marine seismic appliances
 To analyse sub-bottom structure and
layer thicknesses
 Larger electronic equipment, with
range and penetration
complex mechanical hydrophone
streamers
 Frequency typically 0.5 to 3 kHz

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 Introduction to Marine Sub-Bottom Profiling
Classes of sub-bottom profilers
■ Classification by Installation and operation
 Towed fishes
 Vessel hull mounted 
■ Classification by signal generation
 Conventional (non-parametric) generation of low frequency signal
with either low horizontal resolution or huge transducer array sizes
 Parametric generation of the low frequency signal
with reasonable transducer array size, very high horizontal resolution 

ATLAS PARASOUND
is a
hull mounted, parametric sub-bottom profiler

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 Introduction to Marine Sub-Bottom Profiling
Parametric Effect
• Transmission of 2 high energy
signals of slightly different
frequency
• Non-linear hydro-acoustic
behaviour of water for high
energy signals
• Creation of harmonics at
difference frequency and
frequency sum
• E.g. Primary signals: 18 and 21 kHz
Parametric signals: 3 and 39 kHz

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 Content
1. ATLAS Hydrographic - company profile

2. Introduction to Sub-Bottom Profiling

3. ATLAS PARASOUND
Deep-Sea Parametric Sub-Bottom Profiler

4. Application Benefits
ATLAS PARASOUND Advantages

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 ATLAS PARASOUND
Deep-Sea Parametric Sub-Bottom Profiler
■ Deep-sea parametric sub-bottom profiler
■ Depth Range 11,000 m
■ Sub-Bottom Penetration up to >200 m
■ Profiling of ocean sub-bottom and water column

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 ATLAS PARASOUND
Deep-Sea Parametric Sub-Bottom Profiler
Electronics Design Concept
■ AEU Analog Electronic Unit
■ DEU Digital Electronic Unit
AEU
■ ICU InterConnection Unit

DEU
ICU

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 ATLAS PARASOUND
Deep-Sea Parametric Sub-Bottom Profiler
ATLAS echosounder family
■ Common Design
■ Common
electronic
components

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 ATLAS PARASOUND
Deep-Sea Parametric Sub-Bottom Profiler
Product Variants ATLAS PARASOUND
■ P70 with 70 kW maximum transmit power
 Max penetration >200 m
 Full flexibility with max number of acoustic
elements and channels
 384 acoustic elements in triplets
 128 stave channels
P70 transducer array

■ P35 with 35 kW maximum transmit power

 Max penetration >150 m
 Standard configuration for typical sub-
bottom profiling tasks
 192 acoustic elements in triplets
 64 stave channels

P35 transducer array

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 ATLAS PARASOUND
Deep-Sea Parametric Sub-Bottom Profiler
Software
■ Sensor Control
ATLAS HYDROMAP CONTROL
 For all ATLAS HYDROSWEEP,
FANSWEEP and PARASOUND
 Comprehensive parameter control
 Multi-user, multi-client, multi-sensor
 Data quality monitoring
■ Data Acquisition, Processing, Replay
ATLAS PARASTORE
 Profile data acquisition for ATLAS
HYDROSWEEP and PARASOUND
 Sediment profile, water column profile
 Numerical and graphical data processing
 Industrial standard SEG-Y and PS3 export

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 ATLAS PARASOUND
Deep-Sea Parametric Sub-Bottom Profiler
Key Features ATLAS PARASOUND
■ Frequency 0.5 kHz to 6.0 kHz
■ Full ocean depth range, maximum sediment
penetration >200 m
■ Superb vertical resolution 6.1 cm, high horizontal
resolution 4.5° x 5°
■ 24 Bit dynamic range at 128 reception channels
 To perceive everything – even the faint air
bubble above the bedrock echo
 To look everywhere – even electronically steered
2 km off track
■ Multi-ping
■ Watch free operation
■ Water column to full ocean depth

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 Content
1. ATLAS Hydrographic - company profile

2. Introduction to Sub-Bottom Profiling

3. ATLAS PARASOUND
Deep-Sea Parametric Sub-Bottom Profiler

4. Application Benefits
ATLAS PARASOUND Advantages

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 ATLAS PARASOUND
Deep-Sea Parametric Sub-Bottom Profiler
PARASOUND Operation Modes
5
■ P-SBP/SBES
4
 Parametric sub-bottom profiling, single beam
3
 Single beam profiling of sub-bottom
2
 Multi-ping 1
■ P-SBP/MBES
5
 Parametric sub-bottom profiling, multibeam
4
 Multiple single beams send out across track in multi-ping
3
2
 17 beams across swath, swath width 50°
1
■ MBES
 Multibeam All 1 ping
 Omni direction transmission in full 25° x 15°
 Reception beamforming into 17 x 9 beams

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 Application Benefits
ATLAS PARASOUND Advantages

ATLAS PARASOUND data from R/V POLARSTERN

over the same spot with Multiping ATLAS PARASOUND

■ 4.5° x 5.0°

■ 6.1 cm

■ Multi-ping

ATLAS PARASOUND data from R/V POLARSTERN

without Multiping

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 Application Benefits
ATLAS PARASOUND Advantages
Water column profiling
down to the very bottom
■ Gas Hydrate localisation
 Finding escaping gas in the water column
 Pinpointing to source localisation
■ Evaluation of deposit quality
 Profiling the water column down to the
very bottom
 Profiling of sediment to identify existing
geological structures (e.g. gas chimneys,
faults, gas saturated sediment)

Submarine gas releases at the gas hydrate site GC-234 in

the Gulf of Mexico, data by courtesy of R/V SONNE

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 Application Benefits
ATLAS PARASOUND Advantages
Water column profiling
down to the very bottom
Echo amplitude
■ Enormous amplitude
contrast between
 Gas bubble
 Sea bottom
■ In layer directly above sea
bottom, this cannot be
compensated by standard
Dynamic range =
TVG adjustments, without
144 dB (24 bit)
loss in sediment data

Travel
time

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 Application Benefits
ATLAS PARASOUND Advantages
ATLAS PARASOUND Double Digitising Technology (DDT)
1 bit is equivalent to 6 dB

Attenuation channel with 24 bit ADC conversion

-24 dB Digitised analog signal
by merging of
attenuation channel and
144 dB
amplification channel

LSB

168 dB
(28 bit) 192 dB (32 bit)

+24 dB saturation
Analog signal
with high 32 bit = 24 bit + 2 • 4 bit
144 dB
dynamic range
LSB threshold (1 bit)
Amplification channel with 24 bit ADC conversion
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 Application Benefits
ATLAS PARASOUND Advantages
Water column profiling
ATLAS PARASOUND
Escaping gas in
■ Gas Hydrate localisation water column
 Finding escaping gas in the water
column
 Pinpointing to source localisation
■ Evaluation of deposit quality
 Profiling the water column down
to the very bottom
 Profiling of sediment to identify
existing geological structures (e.g.
gas chimneys, faults, gas
saturated sediment)
Acoustic blanking Sediment
due to Structure
gas saturation visible

Two way profiling at the same time and location

Top: water column profile, Bottom: sediment profile

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 Application Benefits
ATLAS PARASOUND Advantages
Highly compact layer– sampling at
Pre-Survey for geological detail studies with minimum coring depth

ATLAS PARASOUND
 Support coring
 In parallel operation to multi-beam, seismic survey
- Synchronisation with ATLAS HYDROSYNC
- High survey speed (up to 15 kn)
 No restrictions (ice, depth) and good positioning
 Fixed installation
- no additional infrastructure like winches
- no additional mobilisation time
 Direct online printout
 Replay

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 Application Benefits
ATLAS PARASOUND Advantages
Marine Mammal Protection

1. Automatic Transmission Source Level Control (ASLC)

2. Possibility of conventional (= non-parametric) sub-bottom profiling

3. Whale Warning Mode (WWM)

4. Reduced Transmission Source Levels Due to Chirped and Barker

Coded Pulses

5. Automatic Transmission Termination

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Thank you for attention.

Enjoy the
ATLAS PARASOUND!

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 Application Benefits
ATLAS PARASOUND Advantages
Single ping profiling
■ Next ping is send, when previous is
completely received
■ Gaps between beams possible,
depending on vessel speed

overlapping
of footprints

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 Application Benefits
ATLAS PARASOUND Advantages
ATLAS PARASOUND
Quasi-Equidistant Mode
■ Multi ping
■ Ping separated in time for optimum
sediment coverage
■ Ensuring gapless profiling up to 15
knots vessel speed
pulse spacing
■ Homogenous coverage of seafloor (min. 20 ms)

multiple overlapping of footprints

homogeneous ensonification

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