Monterey Bay acoustic environmental monitoring system.

Abstract

Over the past few decades sound has been used with increasing success to measure and monitor a variety of oceanographic features and processes−biological populations, water structure, internal waves, bathymetry, and climatic change to name just a few. Monterey Bay and surrounding ocean regions have recently been proposed as a Marine Sanctuary. Scientists see this region as a natural marine laboratory. In an effort to unobtrusively monitor features and processes in this ocean region a group of local scientists have initiated the design of an Acoustic Environmental Monitoring System (AEMS). A preliminary design meeting was held 28–29 February 1992 by a group of interested scientists and engineers at the Monterey Bay Aquarium. This paper reports on the preliminary design and objectives of the AEMS based on that meeting. The AEMS will consist of three monitoring sites within Monterey Bay, one near the head of Monterey Canyon, and two on the adjacent shelf areas. The sites will be connected to shore by high bandwidth telemetry links. Each site will consist of an instrumentation platform, with quick connect sensor mountings. While acoustic instrumentation will constitute the backbone, the monitoring systems will have provisions to support other oceanographic instruments. Hardware and software interface standards will be established for accommodating these sensors. The acoustic instrumentation will consist of hydrophone arrays, projectors, and acoustic Doppler current meters. The intent is to provide a long-term monitoring capability and a test bed for a variety of environmental monitoring systems. Some of the initial objectives for the AEMS are: provide a long-term acoustic research facility available to the civilian scientific community; provide a reception site for global-warming experiments and other long-range ocean propagation research; monitoring activity in the Marine Sanctuary; marine mammal research; monitoring geological processes; ocean circulation and water column processes. The purpose in presenting this paper at the May 1992 meeting of the Acoustical Society of America is to gain input to this ambitious project from the largest gathering of knowledgeable scientists and engineers possible.