북동태평양 클라리온 클리퍼톤 균열대의 MR1 사이드 스캔 탐사자료의 영상 향상과 해저면 분류에 관한 첫번째 보고

Abstract

The recent growth in the production rate of digital side scan sonar images, coupled with the rapid expansion of systematic seafloor exploration programs, has created a need for fast and quantitative means of processing seafloor imagery. A number of numerical techniques used to enhance and classify imagery produced by long range side scan sonar (MR1) in the Clarion and Clippertion Fracture Zones, NE equatorial Pacific.Side scan sonar imagery is traditionally interpreted visually and qualitatively by experts. Textural Analysis enables a more objective approach, supplementing the interpreter with reliable quantitative results. Grey-level co-occurrence matrices describe numerically textual information and detect subtle details invisible to the human eyes.The area between the Clarion and Clipperton fracture zones (NE equatorial Pacific) is one of the highest manganese nodule abundance in the world oceans. A detailed analysis of MR1 sonar images and ground truth - free-fall grab (FFG) data in the area, reveals a close relationship between sonar characters of seafloor and manganese nodule occurrence. The close relationship between distribution of sonar imagery and manganese nodule abundance implies that seafloor topography and sediment thickness are important controlling factors for occurrence of manganese nodules.