A NEW APPROACH TO PRELIMINARY SITE SURVEILLANCE

George M. Walsh and George J. Moss, Jr.

Peer Reviewed

Abstract:	Optimum deployment of deep submersibles to dive sites requires rapid collection of topographic information, intermediate in precision between conventional depth sounding and direct visual observation. The area and depth resolution of conventional depth sounding systems operating from the surface does not provide the detail necessary for submersible operations. High resolution deep-towed side-looking sonar, television, and camera systems require too much pre-dive survey time. The synthetic aperture array, technique, originally developed for side-looking airborne radar, provides a potential solution for this problem. Application of this technique to side-looking sonar involves unique problems in the areas of medium stability, vehicle motion compensation, reverberation limitations, and the range-azimuth ambiguities resulting from the relatively low propagation velocity. An investigation of these problems has revealed that the technology required to develop a synthetic aperture side-looking sonar is available. Swath coverage on the order of 10 km with a resolution cell of 10 meters in water depths of 7000 m appears to be feasible, from a surface ship operating at a speed of 10 knots. The synthetic aperture approach appears to offer considerable savings in cost and complexity compared to conventional side-looking sonar arrays of similar performance.
Published in:	NAVIGATION: Journal of the Institute of Navigation, Volume 17, Number 2
Pages:	142 - 148
Cite this article:	Walsh, George M., Moss, George J., Jr.,, "A NEW APPROACH TO PRELIMINARY SITE SURVEILLANCE", NAVIGATION: Journal of The Institute of Navigation, Vol. 17, No. 2, Summer 1970, pp. 142-148.
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