Using vertical Sidescan Sonar as a tool for seagrass cartography

An acoustic method, a vertically oriented Sidescan Sonar (SSSv), is used to detect and map Posidonia oceanica meadows in the bay of Agua Amarga (SE of the Mediterranean coast of Spain). Sidescan sonar, among other active hydroacoustic techniques, has shown its ability to detect, map and monitor seagrass based on its acoustic backscatter; however, some limitations linked to its power based approach have been reported in the literature. Our method is based on the SSSv measurement of canopy height distribution, making the most use of the SSSv acoustic data and using existing algorithms as statistical mapping methods. The results show a spatially coherent and statistically consistent classification. The comparison with groundtruthing is difficult due to the steep variations in the seafloor cover found in the area of interest, nevertheless the validation is successful (proving low-order discrimination) in a zone with a large range of depth variations (0−25 m).

► Seagrass mapping is a key information in coastal area management.
► Posidonia oceanica is the most important seagrass in the Mediterranean Sea.
► We use vertically oriented Sidescan Sonar to detect and map Posidonia oceanica.
► The method is based on the statistics of canopy height profiles.
► The methodology is fast, easy to implement, low cost and reproducible.