Andone C. Lavery

Determining dominant scatterers of sound in mixed zooplankton populations

High-frequency acoustic scattering techniques have been used to investigate dominant scatterers in mixed zooplankton populations. Volume backscattering was measured in the Gulf of Maine at 43, 120, 200, and 420 kHz. Zooplankton composition and size were determined using net and video sampling techniques, and water properties were determined using conductivity, temperature, and depth sensors. Dominant scatterers have been identified using recently developed scattering models for zooplankton and microstructure. Microstructure generally did not contribute to the scattering. At certain locations, gas-bearing zooplankton, that account for a small fraction of the total abundance and biomass, dominated the scattering at all frequencies. At these locations, acoustically inferred size agreed well with size determined from the net samples. Significant differences between the acoustic, net, and video estimates of abundance for these zooplankton are most likely due to limitations of the net and video techniques. No other type of biological scatterer ever dominated the scattering at all frequencies. Copepods, fluid-like zooplankton that account for most of the abundance and biomass, dominated at select locations only at the highest frequencies. At these locations, acoustically inferred abundance agreed well with net and video estimates. A general approach for the difficult problem of interpreting high-frequency acoustic scattering in mixed zooplankton populations is described.

Three-dimensional modeling of acoustic backscattering from fluid-like zooplankton

Scattering models that correctly incorporate organism size and shape are a critical component for the remote detection and classification of many marine organisms. In this work, an acoustic scattering model has been developed for fluid-like zooplankton that is based on the distorted wave Born approximation (DWBA) and that makes use of high-resolution three-dimensional measurements of the animals outer boundary shape. High-resolution computerized tomography (CT) was used to determine the three-dimensional digitizations of animal shape. This study focuses on developing the methodology for incorporating high-resolution CT scans into a scattering model that is generally valid for any body with fluid-like material properties. The model predictions are compared to controlled laboratory measurements of the acoustic backscattering from live individual decapod shrimp. The frequency range used was 50 kHz to 1 MHz and the angular characteristics of the backscattering were investigated with up to a 1 degree angular resolution. The practical conditions under which it is necessary to make use of high-resolution digitizations of shape are assessed.

High-frequency acoustic scattering from turbulent oceanic microstructure : the importance of density fluctuations

Acoustic scattering techniques provide a unique and powerful tool to remotely investigate the physical properties of the ocean interior over large spatial and temporal scales. With high-frequency acoustic scattering it is possible to probe physical processes that occur at the microstructure scale, spanning submillimeter to centimeter scale processes. An acoustic scattering model for turbulent oceanic microstructure is presented in which the current theory, which only accounts for fluctuations in the sound speed, has been extended to include fluctuations in the density as well. The inclusion of density fluctuations results in an expression for the scattering cross section per unit volume, sigma(v), that is explicitly dependent on the scattering angle. By relating the variability in the density and sound speed to random fluctuations in oceanic temperature and salinity, sigma(v) has been expressed in terms of the temperature and salinity wave number spectra, and the temperature-salinity co-spectrum. A Batchelor spectrum for temperature and salinity, which depends on parameters such as the dissipation rates of turbulent kinetic energy and temperature variance, has been used to evaluate sigma(v). Two models for the temperature-salinity co-spectrum have also been used. The predictions indicate that fluctuations in the density could be as important in determining backscattering as fluctuations in the sound speed. Using data obtained in the ocean with a high resolution vertical microstructure profiler, it is predicted that scattering from oceanic microstructure can be as strong as scattering from zooplankton.

Classification of broadband echoes from prey of a foraging Blainville’s beaked whale

Blainvilles beaked whales (Mesoplodon densirostris) use broadband, ultrasonic echolocation signals with a -10 dB bandwidth from 26 to 51 kHz to search for, localize, and approach prey that generally consist of mid-water and deep-water fishes and squid. Although it is well known that the spectral characteristics of broadband echoes from marine organisms vary as a function of size, shape, orientation, and anatomical group, there is little evidence as to whether or not free-ranging toothed whales use spectral cues in discriminating between prey and nonprey. In order to study the prey-classification process, a stereo acoustic tag was deployed on a Blainvilles beaked whale so that emitted clicks and the corresponding echoes from targets in the water could be recorded. A comparison of echoes from targets apparently selected by the whale and those from a sample of scatterers that were not selected suggests that spectral features of the echoes, target strengths, or both may have been used by the whale to discriminate between echoes. Specifically, the whale appears to favor targets with one or more nulls in the echo spectra and to seek prey with higher target strengths at deeper depths.

Acoustic scattering from double-diffusive microstructure

Laboratory measurements of high-frequency broadband acoustic backscattering (200-600 kHz) from the diffusive regime of double-diffusive microstructure have been performed. This type of microstructure, which was characterized using direct microstructure and optical shadowgraph techniques, is identified by sharp density and sound speed interfaces separating well-mixed layers. Vertical acoustic backscattering measurements were performed for a range of physical parameters controlling the double-diffusive microstructure. The echoes have been analyzed in both the frequency domain, providing information on the spectral response of the scattering, and in the time domain, using pulse compression techniques. High levels of variability were observed, associated with interface oscillations and turbulent plumes, with many echoes showing significant spectral structure. Acoustic estimates of interface thickness (1-3 cm), obtained for the echoes with exactly two peaks in the compressed pulse output, were in good agreement with estimates based on direct microstructure and optical shadowgraph measurements. Predictions based on a one-dimensional weak-scattering model that includes the actual density and sound speed profiles agree reasonably with the measured scattering. A remote-sensing tool for mapping oceanic microstructure, such as high-frequency broadband acoustic scattering, could lead to a better understanding of the extent and evolution of double-diffusive layering, and to the importance of double diffusion to oceanic mixing.

Deterministic forward scatter from surface gravity waves

Deterministic structures in sound reflected by gravity waves, such as focused arrivals and Doppler shifts, have implications for underwater acoustics and sonar, and the performance of underwater acoustic communications systems. A stationary phase analysis of the Helmholtz-Kirchhoff scattering integral yields the trajectory of focused arrivals and their relationship to the curvature of the surface wave field. Deterministic effects along paths up to 70 water depths long are observed in shallow water measurements of surface-scattered sound at the Marthas Vineyard Coastal Observatory. The arrival time and amplitude of surface-scattered pulses are reconciled with model calculations using measurements of surface waves made with an upward-looking sonar mounted mid-way along the propagation path. The root mean square difference between the modeled and observed pulse arrival amplitude and delay, respectively, normalized by the maximum range of amplitudes and delays, is found to be 0.2 or less for the observation periods analyzed. Cross-correlation coefficients for modeled and observed pulse arrival delays varied from 0.83 to 0.16 depending on surface conditions. Cross-correlation coefficients for normalized pulse energy for the same conditions were small and varied from 0.16 to 0.06. In contrast, the modeled and observed pulse arrival delay and amplitude statistics were in good agreement.

Use of the distorted wave Born approximation to predict scattering by inhomogeneous objects: Application to squid

A new method has been developed to predict acoustic scattering by weakly scattering objects with three-dimensional variability in sound speed and density. This variability can take the form of inhomogeneities within the body of the scatterer and/or geometries where the acoustic wave passes through part of the scattering body, into the surrounding medium, and back into the body. This method applies the distorted wave Born approximation (DWBA) using a numerical approach that rigorously accounts for the phase changes within a scattering volume. Ranges of validity with respect to material properties and numerical considerations are first explored through comparisons with modal-series-based predictions of scattering by fluid-filled spherical and cylindrical fluid shells. The method is then applied to squid and incorporates high resolution spiral computerized tomography (SCT) scans of the complex morphology of the organism. Target strength predictions based on the SCT scans are compared with published backscattering data from live, freely swimming and tethered squid. The new method shows significant improvement for both single-orientation and orientation-averaged scattering predictions over the DWBA-homogeneous-prolate-spheroid model.

Broadband acoustic quantification of stratified turbulence

High-frequency broadband acoustic scattering techniques have enabled the remote, high-resolution imaging and quantification of highly salt-stratified turbulence in an estuary. Turbulent salinity spectra in the stratified shear layer have been measured acoustically and by in situ turbulence sensors. The acoustic frequencies used span 120-600 kHz, which, for the highly stratified and dynamic estuarine environment, correspond to wavenumbers in the viscous-convective subrange (500-2500 m(-1)). The acoustically measured spectral levels are in close agreement with spectral levels measured with closely co-located micro-conductivity probes. The acoustically measured spectral shapes allow discrimination between scattering dominated by turbulent salinity microstructure and suspended sediments or swim-bladdered fish, the two primary sources of scattering observed in the estuary in addition to turbulent salinity microstructure. The direct comparison of salinity spectra inferred acoustically and by the in situ turbulence sensors provides a test of both the acoustic scattering model and the quantitative skill of acoustical remote sensing of turbulence dissipation in a strongly sheared and salt-stratified estuary.

The Suspension of Large Bubbles Near the Sea Surface by Turbulence and Their Role in Absorbing Forward-Scattered Sound

There is anecdotal evidence that under conditions of moderate to high wind speeds (8-15 m ·s- 1), clouds of bubbles entrained in the near-surface layer by breaking waves can create a benign underwater communications channel through the resonant absorption of forward-scattered sound, reducing reverberation times and the occurrence of high-intensity, Doppler-shifted arrivals. Current models for the effects of bubbles on surface-interacting sound show two effects: refraction of low-frequency sound due to reductions in sound speed near the surface and resonant absorption at higher frequencies. These models include uncertainty in the numbers and sizes of the largest bubbles present in the near-surface layer, and their dependence on wind speed. This uncertainty makes quantitative prediction of bubble effects in the underwater acoustic communications band of workhorse frequencies (10-30 kHz) difficult. The model calculations presented here show that resonant absorption associated with the largest bubbles is strongly frequency and wind-speed dependent. The frequency dependence can be explained by the concept of a bubble escape radius; this being the radius of a bubble for which turbulent fluid velocity fluctuations and bubble terminal velocity in the upper ocean boundary layer balance. Bubbles smaller than the escape radius tend to remain trapped by fluid turbulence while larger bubbles are lost to the surface through buoyant degassing. Calculation of the escape radius provides a means of estimating the lowest frequency at which resonant absorption can be expected for a given wind speed. Initial estimates suggest that resonant absorption at 10 kHz begins at 10-m wind speeds of around 8 ms -1, and significant surface bounce losses at frequencies lower than this are expected in the range of wind speeds 13-20 m·s- 1.

Comparisons among ten models of acoustic backscattering used in aquatic ecosystem research

Analytical and numerical scattering models with accompanying digital representations are used increasingly to predict acoustic backscatter by fish and zooplankton in research and ecosystem monitoring applications. Ten such models were applied to targets with simple geometric shapes and parameterized (e.g., size and material properties) to represent biological organisms such as zooplankton and fish, and their predictions of acoustic backscatter were compared to those from exact or approximate analytical models, i.e., benchmarks. These comparisons were made for a sphere, spherical shell, prolate spheroid, and finite cylinder, each with homogeneous composition. For each shape, four target boundary conditions were considered: rigid-fixed, pressure-release, gas-filled, and weakly scattering. Target strength (dB re 1 m(2)) was calculated as a function of insonifying frequency (f = 12 to 400 kHz) and angle of incidence (θ = 0° to 90°). In general, the numerical models (i.e., boundary- and finite-element) matched the benchmarks over the full range of simulation parameters. While inherent errors associated with the approximate analytical models were illustrated, so were the advantages as they are computationally efficient and in certain cases, outperformed the numerical models under conditions where the numerical models did not converge.