This is an archived event page. To view the recording, visit this link.

Presentation Slides

This SERDP and ESTCP webinar focuses on DoD-funded research efforts to identify reliable techniques for detailed survey of unexploded ordnance (UXO) at underwater remediation sites less than five meters deep. Specifically, the investigator will cover the development of the novel Sediment Volume Search Sonar (SVSS) sensor system which can conduct detailed acoustic surveys in shallow water.
 

Abstract

“Enhanced Sensing for Detailed Surveys in Very Shallow Water” by Dr. Daniel Brown (SERDP Project MR21-1279)

The Sediment Volume Search Sonar (SVSS) is a sensor system capable of conducting detailed acoustic surveys for munitions response. The sensor produces a novel form of three-dimensional synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) imagery of surficial and buried unexploded ordnance across a range of environments. The sensor is particularly suited for use in remediation sites with less than 5 meters of water depth – an environment which precludes the use of towed or submerged autonomous systems. This webinar will detail the current research to move SERDP closer to a solution to the problem of detailed survey in very shallow water, building upon the work conducted in a prior project (MR-2545). The current effort aims to enhance the sensing performance and robustness of SVSS by improving both the sonar hardware, as well as the signal processing of the sensor’s data. A description of the new acoustic receiver subsystem will be presented, along with progress on the device’s fabrication. This receiving sub-system, combined with the projector system developed under the previous project, will allow the SVSS to achieve enhanced along-track resolution as fine as 3 cm. Proposed updates to the signal processing algorithm used to create three-dimensional imagery will be outlined as well. The combination of these efforts under the current project are expected to enhance the performance and robustness of munitions response in very shallow water.

Speaker Biography

Dr. Daniel Brown is an assistant research professor and head of the sensor analysis and data modeling department at the Applied Research Laboratory (ARL) at The Pennsylvania State University (PSU). His current research interests include synthetic aperture sonar signal processing, sonar system performance modeling, acoustic navigation, and coherence of scattering from random rough surfaces. Prior to working at ARL, Dr. Brown was a scientist for the Naval Surface Warfare Center (NSWC) in Panama City, Florida, where his work focused on development of signal processing algorithms for synthetic aperture sonars systems. He received a bachelor’s degree in physics from Rhodes College in Tennessee, a master’s degree in physics from the University of Mississippi in Oxford, and a doctoral degree in acoustics from PSU.