Correlation of side-scan backscatter intensity with grain-size distribution of shelf sediments, New Jersey margin

Abstract The dependence of acoustic backscatter variations on sediment grain-size distribution is examined using a combined analysis of 95 kHz side-scan data and approx. 300 grab samples from the New Jersey margin. We show that, under well-controlled circumstances, an unprecedented degree of correlation can be obtained between backscatter intensity and mean grain size. However, backscatter is disproportionately affected by larger grain sizes. Addition of just a few extra weight percentage of the larger grain sizes (>4 mm), which in our study is typically represented by more abundant shell hash among the older sediments at greater water depths, can completely degrade this correlation.

[1]  E. Kuo.  Wave Scattering and Transmission at Irregular Surfaces , 1964 .

[2]  D. Swift,et al.  Evolution of a classic sand ridge field: Maryland sector, North American inner shelf , 1981 .

[3]  D. Swift,et al.  Sediment Transport in the New York Bight, North American Atlantic Shelf , 1981 .

[4]  W. Bryant,et al.  Acoustic backscatter and sediment textural properties of inner shelf sands, northeastern Gulf of Mexico , 1996 .

[5]  J. Goff,et al.  High-resolution swath sonar investigation of sand ridge, dune and ribbon morphology in the offshore environment of the New Jersey margin , 1999 .

[6]  D. Swift.  Response of the Shelf Floor to Flow , 1986 .

[7]  B. Poulton.  Handbook of techniques for aquatic sediments sampling: 2nd Edition. Edited by Alena Mudroch and Scott D. MacKnight. Available from Lewis Publishers (CRC Press, Inc.), Boca Raton, FL, 1994 , 1995 .

[8]  Robert J. Urick,et al.  Principles of underwater sound , 1975 .

[9]  B. Butman,et al.  Long-term observations of bottom current and bottom sediment movement on the mid-Atlantic continental shelf , 1979 .

[10]  S. R. McLean,et al.  The Role of Non-Uniform Roughness in the Formation of Sand Ribbons* , 1981 .

[11]  A. Ishimaru,et al.  Application of the composite roughness model to high‐frequency bottom backscattering , 1986 .

[12]  D. Dieterle,et al.  Analysis of the baroclinic circulation of the New York Bight with a 3-D diagnostic model , 1987 .

[13]  O. Pilkey,et al.  Shelf sediment transport : process and pattern , 1972 .

[14]  A. Mudroch,et al.  Handbook of Techniques for Aquatic Sediments Sampling , 1991 .

[15]  D. Swift.  Continental Shelf Sedimentation , 1974 .