- Mapping the Seafloor:
- Software for the Processing and Display
- of Swath Sonar Data
- David W. Caress (1,2) and Dale N. Chayes (2)
- Introduction
- MB-System is an open source software package for the processing and display of bathymetry and backscatter imagery data derived from multibeam, interferometry, and sidescan sonars. The source code for MB-System is freely available (for free) by anonymous ftp (including "point and click" access through these web pages). A complete description is provided in web pages accessed through links below.
- MB-System was originally developed at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University (L-DEO) and is now a collaborative effort between the Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI) and L-DEO. The National Science Foundation has provided the primary support for MB-System development since 1993. The Packard Foundation has provided significant support through MBARI since 1998. Additional support has derived from SeaBeam Instruments (1994-1997), NOAA (2002-2004), and others.
- Current Distribution Release Status
Stable Release: 5.1.0 (27 November 2006)
Unstable Release: 5.1.1beta20 (10 July 2008)
- Recent Announcements
- MB-System Discussion List has changed
(May 16, 2008)
NEW!!!
- As of May 11, MBARI changed the list server hardware and software that hosts the MB-System Disccussion List
- The MB-System Discussion List URL has changed to http://listserver.mbari.org/sympa/info/mbsystem
- Anyone can read the list archives. Click on "Archives" in the web interface linked above.
- Only members can post to the list. Join the list via the web interface linked above.
- List members can post via the web interface or by emailing to mbsystem@mbari.org
- MB-System Beta Distributions Now Linked in Web Pages (May 16, 2008)
NEW!!!
- Beta Distributions of MB-System are generated much more frequently than "official" releases, mostly because we have difficulty keeping the documentation concurrent with the code development.
- The sections of these web pages relating to downloads now note that beta distributions are frequently updated, and include a link to the most recent beta distribution.
- Version 5.1.1 will be released as soon as reasonable documentation is completed for the new tools mbgrdviz and mbeditviz.
- Not So Recent Announcements
- MB-System 5.1.0 Now Available (November 27, 2006)
- This is now the current release of MB-System.
- For more information read the MB-System 5.1.0 Release Notes and README file.
- We thank all of the MB-System users who have provided comments, corrections, bug reports, and data samples.
- MB-System NSF Proposal Funded (July 26, 2006)
- The Marine Geology and Geophysics Program of the NSF has approved our request for another five years of funding for MB-System development and support.
- We thank all of the MB-System users who provided letters of support for inclusion in this proposal. Your time and effort are appreciated!!
- The proposal can be read here
- Update to MB-System Cookbook Now Available
(January 14, 2006)
- We are developing an MB-System Cookbook to provide tutorial style documentation for MB-System Version 5. An updated draft of this cookbook by Val Schmidt, Dale Chayes, and David Caress is being made available here along with the data samples used to illustrate the use of our software (see links below).
- First Visualization-Aided MB-System Tool Released
(February 20, 2005)
- MB-System version 6 is already under development. Our intent is to embed a 3D vizualization capability into tools used for tasks such as project management, bathymetry editing, and patch tests. The first tool using this capability is part of the 5.0.6 release. This program is called MBgrdviz, and allows simple 2D and 3D vizualization of GMT grids. Some screen dumps are available here.
- Integrating Third-Party Bathymetry Editors with MB-System (October 6, 2004)
- This
document addresses the issue of integrating a third-party
bathymetry
editor with the MB-System
processing environment.
- Since some editors may have licensing and distribution schemes (e.g. commercial with source held proprietary) that are inconsistent with the GNU Public License (GPL) applied to MB-System, the suggestions presented here do not involve direct use of GPL licensed MB-System source code.
- For the
most part, this can be accomplished using executable programs that are
part of the MB-System
distribution, and therefore freely available to
be installed (but not sold) by third parties.
- However, we also include some code derived from the MB-System distribution that we will separately release under the Lessor GNU Public License (LGPL), allowing those functions to be linked with commercial software.
- Draft MB-System Cookbook Now Available
(December 5, 2003)
- We are developing an MB-System Cookbook to provide tutorial style documentation for MB-System Version 5. A preliminary (incomplete) draft of this cookbook by Val Schmidt, Dale Chayes, and David Caress is being made available here along with the data samples used to illustrate the use of our software (see links below).
- New MB-System Discussion Email List Established
(December 5, 2003)
- We have established an MB-System discussion email list to facillitate communication among MB-System developers and users see links below (see links below).
- SURF format API released under GPL by ATLAS
Hydrographics GmbH (October 18, 2001)
- ATLAS Hydrographics GmbH of Bremen, Germany, has released the source code used to read and write swath mapping sonar data in the SURF format as open source under the GNU Public License (GPL).
- ATLAS markets a number of widely used multibeam sonars, including the Fansweep 15 and Fansweep 20 multibeams for shallow water surveying and the Hydrosweep MD-2 and Hydrosweep DS-2 multibeams for mid- to deep-water surveying.
- The ATLAS HYDROMAP processing package stores Fansweep and Hydrosweep data in the SURF format. A large amount of seafloor mapping data worldwide is archived in this format.
- We will be adding support for the SURF format in MB-System soon (as time and resources allow).
- MB-System NSF Proposal Funded(April
6, 2001)
- The Marine Geology and Geophysics Program of the NSF has approved our request for another five years of funding for MB-System development and support.
- We thank all of the MB-System users who provided letters of support for inclusion in this proposal. Your time and effort are appreciated!!
- We also thank Dr. David Epp, our NSF Program Manager, and the mail reviewers and panel members who reviewed our latest proposal.
- Caution
MB-System is under active development and is updated periodically. This (usually) results in improved performance and additional capabilities, but often means that the documentation (including these web pages) lag somewhat behind the actual software. Please bear with us and send your comments and suggestions.
-
The MB-System source code distribution and related files, including
data samples, are available by anonymous ftp to
Click here to download (by ftp) the most recent stable MB-System source code release.
Click here to download (by ftp) the most recent unstable (beta) MB-System source code release.
To find further documentation about downloading the MB-System source code distribution go to:
- Documentation
The complete web page documentation distributed with MB-System can be accessed here:
A document providing guidance for integrating a third-party bathymetry editor with the MB-System processing environment can be accessed here:
- A few swath data format specifications made available to us can be viewed here:
We maintain an MB-System discussion email list to facillitate communication among MB-System developers and users. We encourage users with questions and/or problems to use this list rather than emailing the developers directly. One must subscribe to the list in order to post messages, but the message archive is publically viewable and searchable over a web interface. The maximum message size in this list is 100K.
The web interface to the list is at:
To subscribe to the list go to:
- http://listserver.mbari.org/sympa/arc/mbsystem
To read the archives go to:
- MB-System Announcement List
We maintain a second, very low traffic list of email addresses which is used solely for providing notification of major updates. If you would like to be notified when new releases are available, but do not wish to join the discussion list described above, please send an email message to:
- majordomo@ldeo.columbia.edu
- with a single line in the body of the message that says:
- subscribe mbsystem-l
- to be automatically added to the announcement list.
- Last Updated: July 20, 2008