On algorithm details in multibeam seafloor classification

Remote sensing of the seafloor constitutes an important topic in exploration, management, protection and other investigations of the marine environment. In the paper, a combined approach to seafloor characterisation is presented. It relies on calculation of several descriptors related to seabed type using three different types of multibeam sonar data obtained during seafloor sensing, viz.: 1) the grey-level sonar images (echograms) of the seabed, 2) the 3D model of the seabed surface which consists of bathymetric data, 3) the set of time domain bottom echo envelopes received in the consecutive sonar beams. The proposed methodology has been tested using field data records acquired from several bottom types in the Southern Baltic Sea. Using the examples of particular parameters, the influence on the specific manner and details regarding their calculation, i.e. the size of the applied current local window to a sonar image, on the obtained classification performance, is discussed.