Side-Scan Sonar Backscatter
Data Specifications
- Area of Coverage: Targeted bay or estuary systems or individual river reaches
- Dates Available: Vary by location, ranging from 2003 to 2009
- Format: .eXtended Triton Format (.XTF), GeoTIFF
- Resolution/Scale: Less than 1 meter
- Accuracy: Varies by project, usually within 10 meters
Overview
Side-scan sonar backscatter imagery serves as the source data for benthic cover data sets and as a guide for point sampling efforts. Acoustic backscatter imagery is a gray-scale raster of the strength of the acoustic return echo from the seabed. The imagery shows the location and distribution of different sediment types, geological features, and some living communities such as seagrass meadows, shellfish beds, and coral reefs. Side-scan sonar is ideal for shallow subtidal areas in turbid waters that are not well captured by optical methods or by the more complicated multi-beam systems.