Deployment of Autonomous Hydrophone Array in the Scotia Sea

• Main Authors: Mastsumoto, Haru, Bohnenstiehl, Del R., Dziak, Robert P., Embley, Robert W., Park, Minkyu
• Other Authors: OREGON STATE UNIV NEWPORT HATFIELD MARINE SCIENCE CENTER
• Format: Text
• Language: English
• Published: 2008
• Subjects: Acoustics; *ACOUSTIC SURVEILLANCE; *ANTARCTIC REGIONS; *HYDROPHONES; HARMONICS; ARRAYS; CONFIGURATIONS; ACOUSTIC ARRAYS; SOUND TRANSMISSION; SELF OPERATION; INTERNATIONAL; ATLANTIC OCEAN; REMOTE AREAS; OCEAN BOTTOM TOPOGRAPHY; SOUTH(DIRECTION); UNDERWATER SOUND; OCEAN BOTTOM; ISLANDS; UNDERWATER; GEORGIA; RIDGES; ICEBERGS; SOUND GENERATORS; CONVERGENCE ZONES; PENINSULAS; NATURAL RESOURCES; TREMORS; SYMPOSIA; MONITORING; IMS(INTERNATIONAL MONITORING SYSTEM); SCOTIA SEA; Antarctic; Antarctic Peninsula; Scotia Sea; The Antarctic; Antarc*; Iceberg*
• Online Access: http://www.dtic.mil/docs/citations/ADA516428; http://oai.dtic.mil/oai/oai?&verb=getRecord&metadataPrefix=html&identifier=ADA516428

The remote area of the Atlantic Ocean near the Antarctic Peninsula and the South Scotia Sea is a region where acoustic surveillance by International Monitoring System (IMS) hydrophones is at best limited. Sound originating in this area is either blocked or hindered by the South Georgia Islands (SGI) and the associated seafloor ridge system, making the region a potential hydroacoustic blind spot for IMS stations. In the spring of 2008, we successfully completed the deployment of a hydrophone array consisting of six autonomous underwater hydrophones (AUHs) in the Scotia Sea area. The array configuration is optimum to study sound propagation through the Antarctic Convergence Zone (ACZ), as well as acoustic blockage and reflection caused by islands and associated seafloor topography. Regional seismo-acoustic signals and episodic harmonic tremor from large icebergs will be utilized as natural sound sources. Published in the Proceedings of the 30th Monitoring Research Review: Ground-Based Nuclear Explosion Monitoring Technologies, 23-25 Sep 2008, Portsmouth, VA sponsored by the National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA) and the Air Force Research Laboratory (AFRL). The original document contains color images.