CODED SCANNING ECHO SOUNDER (COSES)

THE OBJECTIVE OF THE PROJECT IS TO DEVELOP A LOW-COST, HIGH PERFORMANCE CODED SCANNING ECHO SOUNDER (COSES) SUITABLE FOR BATHYMETRIC SURVEYS IN SHALLOW WATER (LESS THAN 100 M). THE GOAL IS TO DEVELOP A SYSTEM THAT CAN COMPETE FAVORABLY IN PERFORMANCE WITH THE MOST SOPHISTICATED MULTIBEAM AND INTERFEROMETRIC SIDESCAN SONARS AVAILABLE TODAY, BUT AT A SMALL FRACTION OF THEIR COST. THE PERFORMANCE GOAL IS TO ACHIEVE SWATH WIDTHS OF ABOUT FOUR TIMES THE WATER DEPTH, ANGULAR RESOLUTION OF 2 DEGREES OR LESS, AND DEPTH RESOLUTION OF ABOUT 10 CM AT VESSEL SPEEDS OF UP TO 6-8 KNOTS. COSES UTILIZES FREQUENCY CODING AND A SINGLE SCANNING NARROW-BEAM TRANSMIT TRANSDUCER TO ACHIEVE A BROAD SWATH WHILE MAINTAINING HIGH DEPTH RESOLUTION. THE PROJECT ESTABLISHES THE FEASIBILITY OF COSES THROUGH THE DEVELOPMENT OF A NUMERICAL MODEL THAT SIMULATES THE CHARACTERISTICS OF THE SYSTEM AS WELL AS THE OPERATIONAL CONDITIONS. THE PROJECT ALSO INCLUDES LABORATORY TESTS WITH A SCALED DOWN PROTOTYPE.