Multimission and multispectral sonar

A survey system including a multibeam echo sounder system installed on a water going vehicle that performs multiple measurement functions per multifrequency ping, the survey system comprising:

• a sonar acoustic transceiver with plural transducers in a single projector array and plural transducers in a single hydrophone array;
• the projector array configured orthogonally with respect to the hydrophone array to form a Mills cross such that a projector array transmit beam and multiple hydrophone array receive beams intersect;
• a multifrequency waveform having multiple components in a transceiver transmitter summation block;
• N of non-overlapping frequency bands having respective bandwidths and center frequencies;
• one or more of the transmitter waveform components associated with each of N frequency bands;
• the transmitter waveform components carry out multiple measurement functions;
• the single transmitter multifrequency waveform excites all elements of the projector array such that an entire swath of a waterbody bottom is ensonified by each of the transmitter waveform components;
• and,
• the hydrophone array receives multifrequency transmission echoes from the ensonified scattering centers;
• wherein a first of the frequency bands enables a first measurement function and a second of the frequency bands enables a second measurement function, the first frequency band being widely spaced apart from the second frequency band such that the survey system determines one or more frequency dependent characteristics of the ensonified scattering centers.

A survey system including a multibeam echo sounder system installed on a water going vehicle that estimates reflector location and reflector properties, the survey system comprising:

• a sonar acoustic transceiver with plural transducers in a single projector array and plural transducers in a single hydrophone array;
• the projector array configured orthogonally to the hydrophone array to form a Mills cross such that a projector array transmit beam and multiple hydrophone array receive beams intersect;
• a transmitter waveform having multiple components in a transceiver transmitter summation block;
• N of non-overlapping frequency bands having respective bandwidths and center frequencies;
• one or more of the transmitter waveform components associated with each of N frequency bands;
• the transmitter multifrequency waveform excites all elements of the projector array such that reflectors along an entire swath of a waterbody bottom are ensonified by each of the transmitter waveform components;
• the transmitter waveform components estimate reflector location and reflector properties;
• and,
• the hydrophone array receives multifrequency transmission echoes from the ensonified scattering centers;
• wherein multiple frequencies provide a frequency dependent estimate of reflector location and reflector properties, the multiple frequencies being widely spaced apart such that the survey system determines one or more frequency dependent characteristics of the ensonified scattering centers.