• Geophysics and Geophysical Exploration
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• v.14 no.1
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• pp.80-87
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• 2011

Autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) present the important advantage of being able to approach the seafloor more closely than surface vessel surveys can. To collect bathymetric data, bottom material information, and sub-surface images, multibeam echosounder, sidescan sonar (SSS) and subbottom profiler (SBP) equipment mounted on an AUV are powerful tools. The 3000m class AUV URASHIMA was developed by the Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC). After finishing the engineering development and examination phase of a fuel-cell system used for the vehicle's power supply system, a renovated lithium-ion battery power system was installed in URASHIMA. The AUV was redeployed from its prior engineering tasks to scientific use. Various scientific instruments were loaded on the vehicle, and experimental dives for science-oriented missions conducted from 2006. During the experimental cruise of 2007, high-resolution acoustic images were obtained by SSS and SBP on the URASHIMA around the northern Kumano Basin off Japan's Kii Peninsula. The map of backscatter intensity data revealed many debris objects, and SBP images revealed the subsurface structure around the north-eastern end of our study area. These features suggest a structure related to the formation of the latest submarine fan. However, a strong reflection layer exists below ~20 ms below the seafloor in the south-western area, which we interpret as a denudation feature, now covered with younger surface sediments. We continue to improve the vehicle's performance, and expect that many fruitful results will be obtained using URASHIMA.

• The Sea:JOURNAL OF THE KOREAN SOCIETY OF OCEANOGRAPHY
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• v.7 no.3
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• pp.95-99
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• 2002

3.5KHz subbottom profiling systems are useful for delineating of shallow (up to 10~100m below the sea bottom) geological structure. These systems are generally used to image geological structures with less than 1m of vertical resolution. However swell in the sea is quite often higher than 1m, causing degradation in the quality of the 3.5KHz subbottom profiles. In this paper, we show the quality of digitally recorded data can be enhanced by the suppression of swell effect. Prior to suppression of swell effect, sea bottom detection procedure was applied using the characteristics that the amplitude of sea bottom reflection is high. To suppress the swell effect, we applied moving average method and high-cut filtering method using the extracted water depth of adjacent traces. Acceptable results were obtained from both methods. In the case of bad quality data or shallow data interfered with direct wave, the suppression of swell effect is difficult due to incorrect sea bottom detection.

• Journal of Ocean Engineering and Technology
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• v.31 no.4
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• pp.308-314
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• 2017

The purpose of this study was to investigate the sea floor using a seismic profiler in the northern part of Chagwi-do of Jeju Island in order to select the optimal location for the 60-m-class berth of a sea test bed for wave energy converters and provide basic environmental data for designing a suction anchor. The echo types of the seismic profiles were classified based on the study of Kim et al. (2016a), and the location for installing the suction anchor was selected based on a sediment thickness of more than 10 m. The physical properties of the surface sediments were determined by analyzing the sediment samples obtained from 16 grab sample points. Based on the investigation and analysis, we proposed a survey area in the North-Eastern sea as an optimum location for the 60-m-class berth where the suction anchor could be installed.

• Journal of Advanced Marine Engineering and Technology
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• v.38 no.9
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• pp.1163-1169
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• 2014

As a preliminary study for detection techniques of $CO_2$ gas bubble plumes, we have conducted a comparative experiment on artificially generated $CO_2$ gas bubbles plume by using multibeam echosounder (MBES), single beam echosounder (SBES), and sub-bottom profiler (SBP). The rising speed of artificial gas bubbles is higher than references because of compulsory release of compressed gas in the tank. Compared to single beam acoustic equipments, the MBES detects wide swath coverage. It provides exact determination of the source position and 3D information on the gas bubble plumes in the water column. Therefore, it is shown that MBES can distinctly detect gas bubble plumes compared to single beam acoustic equipments. We can establish more effective complementary detection technique by simultaneous operation of MBES and SBES. Consequently, it contributes to improve qualitative and quantitative detection techniques by understanding the acoustic characteristics of the specific gas bubbles.

• Proceedings of the Korean Society of Surveying, Geodesy, Photogrammetry, and Cartography Conference
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• 2006.11a
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• pp.33-45
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• 2006

The interest of sediment has been increased daily because most of domestic dam reservoir's operation time have been extended and wide basin area is the main characteristics for artificial reservoir which the speed of water flow in artificial reservoir is slower than that of natural reservoir. Therefore a lot of sediment has been significantly accumulated. In this study, the accurate topographic data were obtained using echo-sounding system. GPS survey, low-frequency sub-bottom profiler, and high-frequency echo-sounding system were used to compute the exact amount of sediment. Based on the results, DEM(Digital Elevation Model) and DSM(Digital Surface Model) were generated. The GIS system for the management of sediment was created based on topographic data on the riverbed and this system can be efficiently used for the management of sediment which caused the problems of reservoir capacity and water quality.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.35 no.6
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• pp.419-426
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• 2016

Measurements of bottom loss as a function of grazing angle (in range of $9{\sim}14^{\circ}$) at a frequency range of 4 ~ 8 kHz were conducted on an experimental site off Geoje island in October 2015. Geoacoustic inversion of the surficial sediment thickness is performed using the arrival time difference between the surficial layer and the sub-bottom layer reflected signal. To invert the thickness of surficial sediment, we used the grain size of $8{\sim}10{\phi}$ obtained by KIGAM (Korea Institute of Geoscience and Mineral Resources). The thickness of the surficial sediment was estimated to be 4 ~ 7 m. Finally, this inversion result was compared with the geoacoustic observation conducted by the KIOST (Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology) using sub-bottom profiler.

• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.411-422
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• 2015

This paper presents an overview of the geological environment investigation and underwater acoustic measurements for the purpose of "Study on the Relationship between the Geological Environment and Acoustic Propagation in Shallow Water", which are jointly carried out by KIOST (Korea Institute of Ocean Science & Technology) and Hanyang University in the western shallow water off the Taean peninsula in the Yellow Sea in April-May 2013. The experimental site was made up of various sediment types and bedforms due to the strong tidal currents and coastal geomorphological characteristics. The geological characteristics of the study area were intensively investigated using multi-beam echo sounder, sub-bottom profiler, sparker system and grab sampler. Acoustic measurements with a wide range of research topics in a frequency range of 20~16,000 Hz: 1) low frequency sound propagation, 2) mid-frequency bottom loss, 3) spatial coherence analysis of ambient noise, and 4) mid- frequency bottom backscattering were performed using low- and mid-frequency sound sources and vertical line array. This paper summarizes the topics that motivated the experiment, methodologies of the acoustic measurements, and acoustic data analysis based on the measured geological characteristics, and describes summary results of the geological, meteorological, and oceanographic conditions found during the experiments.

• Korean Journal of Heritage: History & Science
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• v.56 no.3
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• pp.174-193
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• 2023

Korea is surrounded by the sea and has rivers connecting to it throughout the inland areas, which has been a geographical characteristic since ancient times. As a result, there have been exchanges and conflicts with various countries through the sea, and rivers have facilitated the transportation of ships carrying grain, goods paid for by taxes, and passengers. Since the past, the sea and rivers have had a significant impact on the lives of Koreans. Consequently, it is expected that there are many cultural heritages submerged in the sea and rivers, and continuous efforts are being made to discover and preserve them. Underwater cultural heritage is difficult to discover due to its location in the sea or rivers, making direct visual observation and exploration challenging. To overcome these limitations, various geophysical survey techniques are employed. Geophysical survey methods utilize the physical properties of elastic waves, including their reflection and refraction, to conduct surveys such as bathymetry, underwater topography and strata. These techniques detect the physical characteristics of underwater objects and seafloor formation in the underwater environment, analyze differences, and identify underwater cultural heritage located on or buried in the seabed. Bathymetry uses an echo sounder, and an underwater topography survey uses a side-scan sonar to find underwater artifacts lying on or partially exposed to the seabed, and a marine shallow strata survey uses a sub-bottom profiler to find underwater heritages buried in the seabed. However, the underwater cultural heritage discovered in domestic waters thus far has largely been accidental findings by fishermen, divers, or octopus hunters. This study aims to analyze and summarize the latest research trends in equipment used for underwater cultural heritage exploration, including bathymetric surveys, underwater topography surveys and strata surveys. The goal is to contribute to research on underwater cultural heritage investigation in the domestic context.