The formation of high-resolution synthetic aperture sonar (SAS) imagery requires accurate estimates of the sensor's trajectory. This is frequently accomplished using the Displaced Phase Center Antenna technique, which utilizes cross correlation of the signals received on successive pings. Accurate estimates of the sensor's ping-to-ping advance are then made by measuring the along-track spatial coherence of the scattered field. Unbiased advance-per-ping estimates require an accurate model for the spatial coherence of the scattered field. This model may be found by the application of the van Cittert-Zernike theorem to the problem of pulsed active sonar systems. In the present work, it is shown that the spatial coherence for a typical highfrequency SAS collection geometry is well approximated by a Gaussian whose width is proportional to the sensor's element size. Gaussian and quadratic along-track interpolation kernel performance is compared for a pair of at sea data collections. A relative image quality metric, based on image contrast, is defined to quantitatively assess the performance of the pair of interpolation kernels. In both tests, the use of an along track estimator is shown to provide improved image quality. Also in both tests, the performance of the Gaussian kernel exceeds the quadratic kernel.

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A Correlation Velocity Log (CVL) has some advantages (lower source level and operating frequency) over a Doppler Velocity Log (DVL) as a navigational aid for an unmanned underwater vehicle (UUV). A CVL provides a bottom referenced velocity estimate by estimating displacement using the incoherently scattered field from an acoustic projector and an array of hydrophones. A small low cost UUV generally operates in shallow water and has limited space and power available for a navigational aid, creating added constraints for the design of a CVL. The important design considerations (such as size, array geometry, operating frequency, and bandwidth) will be discussed as they relate to accuracy of the velocity estimate and operating range. [The authors acknowledge the financial support for this work by Lockheed Martin Undersea Systems.]

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