Sonar bottom mapping using fourth-order cumulants

The problem of sonar bottom mapping is addressed. Recent work has shown that high frequency seafloor backscatter can be characterized statistically by non-Gaussian, heavy tailed distributions. The statistical characterization can be exploited for improved bottom mapping. Known array processing methods are employed but with fourth-order cumulant functions rather than second-order covariance. The fourth-order statistics allow improved rejection of Gaussian interference for greater array gain in this application.