An introductory study of the impact of environmental parameters in the performances of imaging sonar systems

In this study, we aim to improve predictions of the influence of seafloor characteristics in the performances of high resolution imagery sonar systems by relating ground-truthing information with lacunarity values. Two different (autonomous underwater vehicle) AUV-mounted HR sonar systems have been used to collect acoustic data (Side Scan Sonar REMUS@900/1800kHz, Synthetic Aperture Sonar MUSCLE@300kHz). A test area on the Belgian Continental Shelf, between the Thorton bank and the Goote Bank, is selected based on the long term stability of its physical characteristics.