MB-System Documentation

Links to documentation relevant to beginning and advanced MB-System users are provided here, and full descriptions of many sonar formats follow. Some links here will take you to manual pages generated as part of the MB-System software distribution, such as this one, and you will need to use links in their footer or your “back arrow” to return to this page.

For MB-System Users

Installation

MB-System manual pages

GMT (dependency)

Learning MB-System

For Advanced MB-System Users

Third-party bathymetry editor

A document providing guidance for integrating a third-party bathymetry editor with the MB-System processing environment can be accessed here:
Integrating third-party bathymetry editors with MB-System

Writing new data formats

A document providing guidance for supporting new data formats in MB-System can be accessed here:
Developer’s Guide to Writing an MB-System I/O Module

Data Format Specifications

MB-System supports a large number of data formats used to store bathymetry and backscatter imagery data derived from multibeam, interferometry, and sidescan sonars. In practice, the MBIO data format ID is abbreviated “mb#”.

Many of these data formats were created by sonar vendors or software developers who make documentation available to the community. This section provides links to data format specification documents that we have permission to redistribute or are available on other sites. The MB-System team and its supporting institutions and funding agencies make no claim regarding the accuracy or usefulness of these documents.

  • ATLAS SURF format API documentation (pdf)
  • Provided by ATLAS Hydrographic which has since been acquired by Teledyne Marine and is part of Reson
  • Relevant to ATLAS multibeam sonars installed since 2000
  • Processed data from Hydrosweep DS, Hydrosweep DS2, Hydrosweep MD, Fansweep 15, and Fansweep 20 multibeam sonars.EdgeTech Jstar (*.jsf) format documentation
  • MB-System format 183
  • Version 1.7 (November 2006) (pdf)
  • Version 1.8 (October 2009) (pdf)
  • Provided by EdgeTech
  • Relevant to Edgetech sidescan and subbottom profiler sonars
  • MB-System format 132
  • Version 3.05, May 2, 2014
    • Specification (pdf)
    • Library API (version 3.05, May 2, 2014) (pdf)
  • Version 3.06, June 30, 2014
    • Specification (pdf)
    • Library API (pdf)
    • Change summary (pdf)
  • Version 3.07, October 31, 2016
    • Specification (pdf)
    • Library API (pdf)
    • Change summary (pdf)
  • Version 3.08, October 2, 2018
    • Specification (pdf)
    • Library API (pdf)
  • Version 3.09, April 26, 2019
    • Specification (pdf)
    • Library API (pdf)
    • Change summary (pdf)
  • Provided by Leidos (formerly part of SAIC), developed by Leidos for the Naval Oceanographic Office
  • Supports most multibeam sonars.
  • MB-System format 121
  • Hawaii MR1 post-processing software file format specification (html)
  • MR1PR library API (html)
  • Provided by Hawaii Mapping Research Group
  • Read as MB-System format 64, written in the BS file format described immediately below
  • Includes HYSWEEP HSX file format specification, including mb201.
  • Provided by HYPACK Inc.(now Xylem.com)
  • HYPACK 2011 (pdf)
  • HYPACK 2013 (pdf)
  • HYPACK 2015 (pdf)
  • HYPACK 2016 (pdf)
  • HYPACK 2020 (pdf)
  • includes MB-System format 201
  • Revision A (September 2016) (html)
  • Revision B (March 2017) (html)
  • Revision F (16 November 2018) (html)
  • Revision H (3 April 2020) (html)
  • MB-System format 59
  • revision F (2000) (pdf)
  • revision H (2004) (pdf)
  • revision I (January 2006) (pdf)
  • revision J (February 2008) (pdf)
  • revision K (June 2009) (pdf)
  • revision M (January 2010) (pdf)
  • revision N (September 2010) (pdf)
  • revision P (June 2012) (pdf)
  • revision Q (February 2013) (pdf)
  • revision R (October 2013) (pdf)
  • revision S (May 2015) (pdf)
  • revision U (June 2015) (pdf)
  • Extract from SIS 4.2 release notes regarding extra detection capability form EM2040 (May 2015) (pdf)
  • Provided by Kongsberg Maritime
  • Relevant to second and third generation Simrad multibeam sonars.
  • MB-System formats 56 and 58
  • Version 1.7.0 (January 2001) (pdf)
  • Version 1.8.4 (July 2002) (pdf)
  • Version 1.8.5 (July 2003) (pdf)
  • Version 1.8.7 (November 2004) (pdf)
  • Version 1.8.22 (August 2009) (pdf)
  • Version 1.8.28 (January 2011) (pdf)
  • Version 1.8.28 (May 13, 2011) (pdf)
  • Version 1.8.36S (May 24, 2012) (pdf)
  • Version 1.8.38W (March 3, 2014) (pdf)
  • Version 1.8.39X (August 18, 2014) (pdf)
  • Provided by L3 Communications ELAC Nautik
  • Relevant to ELAC Bottomchart and SeaBeam multibeams installed since about 2000
  • MB-System format 94
  • Version 1.8.28D (May 13, 2011) (pdf)
  • Provided by L3 Communications ELAC Nautik
  • Relevant to SeaBeam 3012, SeaBeam 3020, SeaBeam 3030, and SeaBeam 3050 multibeam sonars.
  • MB-System format 94
  • Provided by NOAA National Geophysical Data Center
  • Used for exchange of single beam bathymetry, magnetics, and gravity data. Originally defined in 1977; most recently updated 1998.
  • MB-System format 161
  • MSTIFF Image Data File Format (pdf)
  • Provided by Marine Sonic Technology
  • Relevant to Marine Sonic Technology Sea Scan PC sidescan sonars installed since 1997.
  • MB-System format 131
  • MBLDEOIH Generic Swath Mapping Format (html)
  • Defined by the MB-System team.
  • Used for storing swath data in simple, compact files that can be read quickly.
  • Used in the MB-System processing environment for “.fbt” ancillary swath bathymetry files.
  • MB-System format 71
  • Version 3.07 (May 23, 2017) (pdf)
  • Version 3.09 (October 2, 2018) (pdf)
  • Version 3.10 (April 3, 2019) (pdf)
  • Version 3.12 (May 5, 2020) (pdf)
  • MB-System format 89
  • SEA SWATHplus data formats (pdf)
  • Provided by Systems Engineering & Assessment (company no longer exists)
  • Vendor formats for SEA SWATHplus interferometric sonars
  • MB-System formats 221 and 222
  • Scripps Institution of Oceanography SeaBeam Merge Format (pdf)
  • Provided by SIO Geological Data Center
  • Used for SeaBeam Classic data collected on R/V Thomas Washington during the 1980’s and 1990’s.
  • MB-System format 11
  • Triton Imaging XTF Data format (pdf)
  • Provided by Triton Imaging (company no longer exists)
  • Data format associated with Triton Imaging’s Isis dataloggers
  • Supports sidescan, multibeam, and subbottom data from many sonars
  • Only one specific variant is supported as read-only by MB-System, as MB-System data format 84.
  • WASSP Multibeam data realtime broadcast format (pdf)
  • Provided by Electronic Navigation Ltd.
  • Realtime broadcast format for WASSP multibeam sonars.
  • Not supported. Can become an MB-System supported file format if a datalogger captures and logs the stream with no modifications.