Patent ID: 6160756
Filing Date: 2000-12-12
Classification: G01S

Abstract:
Apparatus for sensing characteristics of regions at and under a seafloor, comprising:an array comprising a plurality of transducers that each can generate a sonic team, and a plurality of sonic detectors that can detect sound;circuitry connected to said plurality of transducers to energize them one at a time with an electrical pulse to generate a narrow sonic beam, said circuitry connected to said detectors to receive signals representing a sonic echo of each sonic beam;said plurality of transducers being arranged in at least one row wherein the centers of the transducers are spaced by no more than about 25 centimeters along said at least one row, and each of said pulses has a carrier frequency of at least 0.25 MHz to generate a narrow sonic beam;said sonic detectors include at least three detectors and said detectors are interspersed with said transducers, with each transducer associated with an adjacent sonic detector.