Inversion of the physical properties of seafloor surface sediments based on AUV sub-bottom profile data in the northern slope of the South China Sea

Abstract

Based on the seafloor reflection coefficient obtained from autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) sub-bottom profile survey data of the northern slope of the South China Sea, combined with the sample test data of seafloor surface sediments, we use the Biot–Stoll model to establish the equations relating the seafloor reflection coefficient to the porosity, density, and mean grain size of the sediments at the dominant frequency of 5 kHz (the dominant frequency of the AUV sub-bottom profiler). The physical property parameters such as the porosity, density, and mean grain size of seafloor surface sediments are further inverted. Comparison of inversion results with measured results shows that the overall deviation ratios of the inverted mean grain size, porosity, and density of the surface sediments are in the ranges of − 13.56 to 14.44%, − 6.15 to 8.06%, and − 10.85 to 0.46%, respectively. Among them, the mean grain size directly reflects the size of seafloor sediment particles, and the particles are finer in deeper water. Overall, the inversion results are basically consistent with the measured values and thus can well reflect the variation characteristics of the physical properties of seafloor surface sediments.