ABSTRACT
Very-high-resolution, seismic-reflection profiling is an unsung workhorse of acoustic geology. Subbottom profiling at high frequencies, typically 3.5 to 7 kHz, is a tool frequently used for engineering surveys, for natural resource inventories, and, increasingly, for studies of stratigraphy and sedimentary structure. Very-high-resolution geoacoustic techniques are crossing the threshold of major advances as high speed, digital electronics, and desk-top computing systems (PCs) become affordable and commonplace. Side-scan sonar is another very-high-resolution, high-frequency acoustic system used in marine geology and marine geotechnology. Perhaps the most important recent trends in the development of very-high-resolution seismic-reflection systems intended for use in shallow water are the increased availability, utility, and affordability of digital electronics and the near universal availability of powerful, desk-top computing systems. Two closely related studies along the southern portion of Virginia's inner continental shelf have produced an excellent set of acoustic data, including shallow penetration, very-high-resolution, seismic-reflection profiles, side-scan sonographs, and vibracores.
