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On the Data Logger tab, enable serial port connection and select the serial port to use and parameters.   Ensure the correct serial port is being used and the settings match the settings of the WinFrog input device named BATHY DEPTH - IN.  Select the ODEC Depth Only format for the NMEA Depth Out.

Main Sonar Screen

The Bathy2010 main sonar screen is divided into two sections, the Status windows and Control fields on the left and the Data windows on the right.  A toolbar is located along the top with quick access tools.

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Operation

Frequency Selection

The Bathy 2010 can operate and display the 3.5 kHz and 12 kHz sonar at the same time or either sonar can be used on its own.  To select which frequency to use go to the View drop-down menu and select Ch. 1, Ch. 2, or Dual. 

When selecting a single channel, the user has the option to display a zoom window in addition to the full water depth display.  The depth range of the zoom window is selected from the Zoom Range drop down list.  As the seafloor depth changes the zoom window will adjust automatically.  If the application has not established a seafloor depth or loses the depth the bottom zoom window will reset to start at 0m.

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Manual Mode Operation

To operate in Manual Mode you generally need to manipulate the following three parameters in the order they are listed below:

1. RANGE (available to select on the main sonar screen).
2. TRANSMIT POWER (access “Configure Acquisition Parameters” under the “EDIT” drop-down menu.
3. GAIN (available to select on the main sonar screen).

Select the depth range for the water depth you anticipate the ship is in.

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Set the transmit power and acquisition parameters by selecting “Configure Acquisition Parameters” under the EDIT menu.  Set the Channel 1 Operation Mode to FM and Pulse Window to Hamming.  Set the power level to -24.

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Click the Green transducer icon Image Added on the tool bar to start pinging the sonar. The sensor status window will change to “Sensor:Pinging” and the letters will turn green.  The transducers will start pinging and the depth record should start displaying.  The screen below shows only the 3.5 kHz sonar with the full depth scale on the right and the bottom zoom window on the left.  Click the Red transducer icon  on the tool bar to stop pinging the sonar.

View the Amplitude display on the right side of the Normal Display window to check for the bottom echo return. It will be a large amplitude spike after the transmit energy (at the top of the display).

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The sonar will have to ping a few times and get good returns before it will detect and display a digital bottom depth in meters.  In the example above, Figure ##, the seafloor depth detected by the sonar is shown in the “Ch. 1 – 3.5 kHz” window (big blue numbers). The display windows show a nice seafloor on the right and shows some sub-bottom reflectors on the left in the zoom window.  If you are not finding the seafloor there are a few things you can do.

1. Change the depth range as shown above in Figure 3.  It could be that the sonar is set to the wrong range.
2. Increase the power of the sonar in the “Configure Acquisition Parameters…” window (Figure ##).
3. Increase or decrease the Channel Gain from the drop down menu as shown above (Fig ##).  The gain amplifies the signal received by the transducer.  Increasing the gain can amplify the signal to see better reflectors but it also amplifies noise.  Try different settings to see the response and try to find a setting that works.  During heavy seas or when the thrusters are down a lot of noise can be generated and changing the gain may or may not help.  Note in the example above that the gain was increased during the survey and can be seen to help see the seafloor and the sub-bottom reflectors.

Set the SEGY Start Time to “Auto”.  The start time of the recording of the SEGY file is triggered by the determined digital bottom depth.  If no depth is determined then the start time will snap to 0m.  If the sonar cannot determine a digital bottom depth then the SEGY start time can be set to Manual but the user will have to click and drag the recording box manually as the seafloor depth changes. 

Other Controls

BT Gain (Bottom Triggered Gain) allows the user to amplify acoustic returns in the sub-bottom sediments. The BT Gainis first applied at the bottom depth value and increases over time at the selected dB/unit increment. It can be set from 0.1 - 2.0 dB/m in 0.1 increments..  The sonar must determine a digital bottom depth before it is applied.

Color Controls – The user can choose a grey scale or colors.

Units – The JRSO operates in meters, however, a user may be interested in viewing in milliseconds (msec).

Toolbar Icons

o    Image Added - Click to take a screen capture.

o    Image Added - Click to make a slope measurement.

o    Image Added - Click to mark or annotate the sonar record for future reference.

Automatic Mode Operation (Auto All)

The Bathy2010 has an automatic control called Auto All and is a button on the control panel. Depressing the button sets the Bathy2010 to automatically choose the best Range and Gain settings to track the seafloor.  When used, the sonar will start in the 0-150m range and ping rapidly then will change the range and ping sequence automatically until it finds the correct depth range.  The Range and Gain controls will be locked out when Auto All is in use.  The user can still change the transmit power.  To discontinue use, click the Auto All button again to toggle back to manual mode.

Note:  If using this function, set the initial transmit power on the low end so that the rapid ping sequence the sonar starts with is not too loud.  Do this as a courtesy to the people who sleep on the lower decks, since the sonar makes a lot of noise on high power and can wake people up abruptly.  If you have never heard what it sounds like, go down to the upper and lower tween accommodations when the sonar is on full power.

Data Logging

The JRSO logs all three data outputs the Bathy 2010 can produce.

1. CSV  -  The .csv file is the log of the digital depth determined by the application.
2. SEGY – The SEGY file is a format used in seismic recording and is used here for the 3.5 kHz sub-bottom data.  The file will only record for the length of time specified and starts recording at the determined seafloor when in Auto mode or where it is set at when in Manual mode. 
3. ODC – This is a proprietary SyQwest data format.  This file is used to play back data in the Bathy2010 application and can be used to create a SEGY file.

File Set-up

Create an expedition folder in Windows (C:)/Exp BATHY Data.  Within this folder, create ODEC and SEGY folders.  These folders will be used to file the data files listed above.

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Recording

From the File drop down menu select “Start Recording” and the Recording Data Confirmation window opens. Set up the file recording parameters.

• Zoom Mode –
• Save.. – Check the box to save the CSV depth log file.
• SEGY Data Recording Mode – Select “Processed”
• Save ODC File as – Browse to the expedition ODEC folder.  If a transit is going to be long then it is recommended to create multiple files.
• Save SEGY file as – Browse to the expedition SEGY folder.  If a transit is going to be long then it is recommended to create multiple files.
• SEGY File Header Information – Enter some descriptive information about the activity i.e. transit, site approach, or survey.

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When finished, click Start Recording. The file path and file names will appear in the top header of the application window.

To stop recording, from the File drop-down menu select “Stop Recording.”

Playback

The Bathy2010 application can playback the recorded ODC and SEGY files for review.  From the File drop-down menu select “Open for Playback” or click the open a playback file icon Image Added on the Toolbar. Select the file you want to view and it will start playing.  Use the controls on the Toolbar to control the playback.

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Converting ODC files to SEGY files

If necessary, an ODC file can be processed to convert it into a SEGY file.  In the Tools drop-down menu select “Convert ODC to SEGY.”  Select the ODC file to be converted, enter a comment in the SEGY Header Information screen, and click OK.  The software will play through the entire ODC file on the screen and convert it to a SEGY file.

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SEGY Reprocessing (post X3##)

It was discovered on Expedition ### that the SEGY files being produced by the current software have an error that prevent post-processing software from reading the files.  An upgrade to a new version of the software would mean some changes to the hardware that is not going to be made at this time.  The current work around is to reprocess the ODC files into SEGY files using a newer version of the BATHY2010 software.

Reprocess the ODC files to SEGY files on BATHY2010PC ver. 2.0.2.5 software installed on the computer with Petrel on it in the Logging Office. 

Archiving Data

Move all data files to the Ops Bathymetry folder on DATA1.

References

• SyQwest Bathy-2010 Quick Reference Guide
• SyQwest Bathy 2010 CHIRP Sub Bottom Profiler and Bathymetric Echo Sounder Operations Manual