Scientific Fishery Systems

(1) Seabeck WA, (2) Poulsbo WA, and (3) Anchorage AK

The broadband sonar techniques possess unique processing advantages when compared with the classically utilized, single frequency split beam riverine sonar systems. The techniques, mature signal processing methods developed in the radar and seismic communities for over thirty years, have not been used to the same degree in riverine sonar applications until relatively recently. The authors will give a short presentation to introduce the basic advantages of the broadband sonar techniques when compared to single frequency split beam processes.

The talk will provide a brief overview in the following two topic areas:

• Broadband Sonar Definitions - The basic meaning of broadband sonar as it applies to the familiar subject of acoustic echo ranging. The generation of the sonar pulse using digitally encoded techniques, the choice of operational and engineering parameters for practical systems, and the constraints applied by existing sonar transducer technology will be discussed.

• Broadband Sonar Capabilities - The detection and classification application of the broadband sonar in the riverine environment. The authors will present a brief discussion of fish target detection and target size estimation, tracking a swimming target using broadband Doppler techniques and estimating fish target spectral response. Examples of successful application of a broadband sonar will illustrate the techniques.