Gerald L. D'Spain

The simultaneous measurement of infrasonic acoustic particle velocity and acoustic pressure in the ocean by freely drifting Swallow floats

The Marine Physical Labs Swallow floats, which are capable of simultaneously measuring the oceans infrasonic (1-20 Hz) acoustic particle velocity and infrasonic acoustic pressure, are described. The floats are independent, freely drifting, neutrally buoyant sensor systems that can be ballasted to any desired depth (within +or-100 m) in the ocean. Calibration measurements of the infrasonic sensors and electronics agree to within +or-1 dB in amplitude and +or-3 degrees in phase with the theoretically predicted response curves. Electronic self-noise, quantization noise, and effects of signal clipping are significantly below ambient ocean noise levels, except in unusual circumstances. Rotational resonances, primarily float rocking below 0.5 Hz, contaminate the geophone data at the lowest end of the infrasonic band. From data collected in a deep-ocean deployment, the equivalent pressure autospectrum calculated from the particle velocity data agrees to within 1 dB of the actual pressure autospectrum in the frequency band from 1-20 Hz, thereby verifying the high quality of the infrasonic acoustic data. >

Using ocean ambient noise for array self-localization and self-synchronization

Estimates of the travel times between the elements of a bottom hydrophone array can be extracted from the time-averaged ambient noise cross-correlation function (NCF). This is confirmed using 11-min-long data blocks of ambient noise recordings that were collected in May 1995 near the southern California coast at an average depth of 21 m in the 150-700 Hz frequency range. Coherent horizontal wavefronts emerging from the time derivative of the NCF are obtained across the arrays aperture and are related to the direct arrival time of the time-domain Greens function (TDGF). These coherent wavefronts are used for array element self-localization (AESL) and array element self-synchronization (AESS). The estimated array element locations are used to beamform on a towed source.

The North Pacific Acoustic Laboratory deep-water acoustic propagation experiments in the Philippine Sea

A series of experiments conducted in the Philippine Sea during 2009-2011 investigated deep-water acoustic propagation and ambient noise in this oceanographically and geologically complex region: (i) the 2009 North Pacific Acoustic Laboratory (NPAL) Pilot Study/Engineering Test, (ii) the 2010-2011 NPAL Philippine Sea Experiment, and (iii) the Ocean Bottom Seismometer Augmentation of the 2010-2011 NPAL Philippine Sea Experiment. The experimental goals included (a) understanding the impacts of fronts, eddies, and internal tides on acoustic propagation, (b) determining whether acoustic methods, together with other measurements and ocean modeling, can yield estimates of the time-evolving ocean state useful for making improved acoustic predictions, (c) improving our understanding of the physics of scattering by internal waves and spice, (d) characterizing the depth dependence and temporal variability of ambient noise, and (e) understanding the relationship between the acoustic field in the water column and the seismic field in the seafloor. In these experiments, moored and ship-suspended low-frequency acoustic sources transmitted to a newly developed distributed vertical line array receiver capable of spanning the water column in the deep ocean. The acoustic transmissions and ambient noise were also recorded by a towed hydrophone array, by acoustic Seagliders, and by ocean bottom seismometers.

Direct measurement and matched-field inversion approaches to array shape estimation

Accurate knowledge of array shape is essential for carrying out full wavefield (matched-field) processing. Direct approaches to array element localization (AEL) include both nonacoustic (tilt-heading sensors) and acoustic (high-frequency, transponder-based navigation) methods. The low-frequency signature emitted from a distant source also can be used in an inversion approach to determine array shape. The focus of this paper is on a comparison of the array shape results from these three different methods using data from a 120-m aperture vertical array deployed during SWellEx-3 (Shallow Water evaluation cell Experiment 3). Located 2 m above the shallowest array element was a self-recording package equipped with depth, tilt, and direction-of-tilt sensors, thereby permitting AEL to be performed non-acoustically. Direct AEL also was performed acoustically by making use of transponder pings (in the vicinity of 12 kHz) received by high-frequency hydrophones spaced every 7.5 m along the vertical array. In addition to these direct approaches, AEL was carried out using an inversion technique where matched-field processing was performed on a multitone (50-200 Hz), acoustic source at various ranges and azimuths from the array. As shown, the time-evolving array shape estimates generated by all three AEL methods provide a consistent picture of array motion throughout the 6-h period analyzed.

Site specific probability of passive acoustic detection of humpback whale calls from single fixed hydrophones

Passive acoustic monitoring of marine mammal calls is an increasingly important method for assessing population numbers, distribution, and behavior. A common mistake in the analysis of marine mammal acoustic data is formulating conclusions about these animals without first understanding how environmental properties such as bathymetry, sediment properties, water column sound speed, and ocean acoustic noise influence the detection and character of vocalizations in the acoustic data. The approach in this paper is to use Monte Carlo simulations with a full wave field acoustic propagation model to characterize the site specific probability of detection of six types of humpback whale calls at three passive acoustic monitoring locations off the California coast. Results show that the probability of detection can vary by factors greater than ten when comparing detections across locations, or comparing detections at the same location over time, due to environmental effects. Effects of uncertainties in the inputs to the propagation model are also quantified, and the model accuracy is assessed by comparing calling statistics amassed from 24,690 humpback units recorded in the month of October 2008. Under certain conditions, the probability of detection can be estimated with uncertainties sufficiently small to allow for accurate density estimates.

Empirical and Numerical Modeling of T-phase Propagation from Ocean to Land

Abstract — T-phase propagation from ocean onto land is investigated by comparing data from hydrophones in the water column with data from the same events recorded on island and coastal seismometers. Several events located on Hawaii and the emerging seamount Loihi generated very large amplitude T phases that were recorded at both the preliminary IMS hydrophone station at Point Sur and land-based stations along the northern California coast. We use data from seismic stations operated by U. C. Berkeley along the coast of California, and from the PG&E coastal California seismic network, to estimate the T-phase transfer functions. The transfer function and predicted signal from the Loihi events are modeled with a composite technique, using normal mode-based numerical propagation codes to calculate the hydroacoustic pressure field and an elastic finite difference code to calculate the seismic propagation to la nd-based stations. The modal code is used to calculate the acoustic pressure and particle velocity fields in the ocean off the California coast, which is used as input to the finite difference code TRES to model propagation onto land. We find both empirically and in the calculations that T phases observed near the conversion point consist primarily of surface waves, although the T phases propagate as P waves after the surface waves attenuate. Surface wave conversion occurs farther offshore and over a longer region than body wave conversion, which has the effect that surface waves may arrive at coastal stations before body waves. We also look at the nature of T phases after conversion from ocean to land by examining far inland T phases. We find that T phases propagate primarily as P waves once they are well inland from the coast, and can be observed in some cases hundreds of kilometers inland. T-phase conversion at tenuates higher frequencies, however we find that high frequency energy from underwater explosion sources can still be observed at T-phase stations.

Active control of passive acoustic fields: Passive synthetic aperture/Doppler beamforming with data from an autonomous vehicle

The maneuverability of autonomous underwater vehicles (AUVs) equipped with hull-mounted arrays provides the opportunity to actively modify received acoustic fields to optimize extraction of information. This paper uses ocean acoustic data collected by an AUV-mounted two-dimensional hydrophone array, with overall dimension one-tenth wavelength at 200-500 Hz, to demonstrate aspects of this control through vehicle motion. Source localization is performed using Doppler shifts measured at a set of receiver velocities by both single elements and a physical array. Results show that a source in the presence of a 10-dB higher-level interferer having exactly the same frequency content (as measured by a stationary receiver) is properly localized and that white-noise-constrained adaptive beamforming applied to the physical aperture data in combination with Doppler beamforming provides greater spatial resolution than physical-aperture-alone beamforming and significantly lower sidelobes than single element Doppler beamforming. A new broadband beamformer that adjusts for variations in vehicle velocity on a sample by sample basis is demonstrated with data collected during a high-acceleration maneuver. The importance of including the cost of energy expenditure in determining optimal vehicle motion is demonstrated through simulation, further illustrating how the vehicle characteristics are an integral part of the signal/array processing structure.

Decreasing the radiated acoustic and vibration noise of a mid-size AUV

An Odyssey IIb autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) made by Bluefin Robotics, Inc., was acquired by the Marine Physical Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography, to conduct research in underwater acoustics as well as provide a platform for other scientific studies. The original Odyssey IIb tail cone was replaced with a ducted fan, vectored thrust system installed on vehicles currently sold by Bluefin. In initial sea tests with the new thrust system, the acoustic self noise levels of the vehicle while underway were 20 to 50 dB higher than typical ocean background noise levels, preventing the vehicles use as a receiver of low level sounds. Controlled tests were performed to characterize the radiated and vibration noise of the AUV propulsion and actuators. Once this baseline was established, changes were made, mostly to the tail cone propulsion, to decrease the vehicles self noise. The resulting self noise levels of the AUV from 10 Hz up to 10 kHz measured while underway by a hydrophone mounted on the AUVs inner shroud now are at or below typical shallow water background noise levels except in three bands; below 250 Hz, around 500 Hz, and from 0.9 to 2.0 kHz. The goal of this paper is to describe these changes and their effects in lowering vehicle noise levels.

Calibrating passive acoustic monitoring: correcting humpback whale call detections for site-specific and time-dependent environmental characteristics.

This paper demonstrates the importance of accounting for environmental effects on passive underwater acoustic monitoring results. The situation considered is the reduction in shipping off the California coast between 2008-2010 due to the recession and environmental legislation. The resulting variations in ocean noise change the probability of detecting marine mammal vocalizations. An acoustic model was used to calculate the time-varying probability of detecting humpback whale vocalizations under best-guess environmental conditions and varying noise. The uncorrected call counts suggest a diel pattern and an increase in calling over a two-year period; the corrected call counts show minimal evidence of these features.

Automated acoustic localization and call association for vocalizing humpback whales on the Navy's Pacific Missile Range Facility

Time difference of arrival (TDOA) methods for acoustically localizing multiple marine mammals have been applied to recorded data from the Navys Pacific Missile Range Facility in order to localize and track humpback whales. Modifications to established methods were necessary in order to simultaneously track multiple animals on the range faster than real-time and in a fully automated way, while minimizing the number of incorrect localizations. The resulting algorithms were run with no human intervention at computational speeds faster than the data recording speed on over forty days of acoustic recordings from the range, spanning multiple years. Spatial localizations based on correlating sequences of units originating from within the range produce estimates having a standard deviation typically 10 m or less (due primarily to TDOA measurement errors), and a bias of 20 m or less (due primarily to sound speed mismatch). An automated method for associating units to individual whales is presented, enabling automated humpback song analyses to be performed.