Extraction of seabed geomorphologic features of Svalbard fjords using high-resolution side scan sonar

Abstract

This paper presents results of a study on the relationship between features of side scan sonar acoustic imagery of zones with active bedforms and geomorphologic seafloor characteristics. Acoustic measurements were conducted in Hornsund, a Svalbard fjord representing a periglacial environment with great intensity of morphodynamic processes and rapidly progressing changes of tidewater glaciers. Due to the intensity of these processes, Arctic fjords are the most promising areas to study the effects of climate change on the ecosystem. Acoustic identification of sedimentary structures and morphological forms created by currents and iceberg transport of glacier sediment away from the ice margin was performed. The spectral and fractal features of the recorded signals were analysed. The proposed analysis scheme allows identification of the morphodynamic active zones in the changing Arctic fjord environments. Measurements of acoustical features of seafloor surface were made during the 2006 Arctic cruise of r/v Oceania