Applications of the Huang – Hilbert transformation in non-invasive research of the seabed in the Southern Baltic Sea

This article aims at describing methods for extracting the Quaternary facies and detection of a buried pipeline at the bottom with the Huang – Hilbert transformation (HHT) based on acoustic data recorded by the sub-bottom profiler (SBP). The aforementioned transformation allows a study of nonlinear and/or non-stationary phenomena. A good example of this type of problem is the propagation and reflection of acoustic waves in water and the geological formations occurring beneath the surface of the seabed, as well as their scattering on objects at the bottom. The area in which research has been executed was the southern Baltic Sea, specifically the Outer Puck Bay for Quaternary facies and the stretch north from Władysławowo, for the pipeline. On the basis of the processed data with the HHT, Quaternary facies and the pipeline were determined and identified.