This work makes several contributions to the process of estimating elevation maps from side-scan sonar data: A new estimation method that recreates sonar measurements by pre-computed known sonar responses (so called kernels) and then derives a height profile from the kernels used. Additionally, a 3D method based on Markov Random Fields and a side-scan sonar simulation environment for arbitraty 3D scenes featuring different sonar modes and several terrain generators have been developed.

Noise and vibrations generated by ships affect a wide range of receivers: crew and passengers inside the vessel, inhabitants of the coastal areas and marine fauna outside it. Recent studies suggest that a large percentage of people living in urban areas close to harbors and a number of marine species, at different evolutionary levels (in particular mammals and cephalopods), suffer from ship N&V emissions in air and in water. The present degree of knowledge of the phenomena involved in the noise emissions inside and outside ships is quite different, as a result also of the time elapsed since the negative effects were realized and therefore studied. The development of the normative framework in the various areas reflects these differences, but there are expectations for improvements on all fronts that need to be supported by the scientific community presenting the latest research results in this particular field of acoustics.

Geomorphometry is the science of quantitative terrain characterization and analysis, and has traditionally focused on the investigation of terrestrial and planetary landscapes. However, applications of marine geomorphometry have now moved beyond the simple adoption of techniques developed for terrestrial studies, driven by the rise in the acquisition of high-resolution seafloor data and by the availability of user-friendly spatial analytical tools. Considering that the seafloor represents 71% of the surface of our planet, this is an important step towards understanding the Earth in its entirety.This volume is the first one dedicated to marine applications of geomorphometry. It showcases studies addressing the five steps of geomorphometry: sampling a surface (e.g., the seafloor), generating a Digital Terrain Model (DTM) from samples, preprocessing the DTM for subsequent analyses (e.g., correcting for errors and artifacts), deriving terrain attributes and/or extracting terrain features from the DTM, and using and explaining those terrain attributes and features in a given context. Throughout these studies, authors address a range of challenges and issues associated with applying geomorphometric techniques to the complex marine environment, including issues related to spatial scale, data quality, and linking seafloor topography with physical, geological, biological, and ecological processes. As marine geomorphometry becomes increasingly recognized as a sub-discipline of geomorphometry, this volume brings together a collection of research articles that reflect the types of studies that are helping to chart the course for the future of marine geomorphometry.

This book includes papers from the section “Multisensor Information Fusion”, from Sensors between 2018 to 2019. It focuses on the latest research results of current multi-sensor fusion technologies and represents the latest research trends, including traditional information fusion technologies, estimation and filtering, and the latest research, artificial intelligence involving deep learning.