New platforms, technologies, and approaches for remote inference of physical and biological parameters using acoustic scattering techniques

Abstract

Active narrowband acoustic scattering techniques have been used for decades to study the distribution of marine organisms, such as fish and zooplankton, and to image physical oceanographic processes, such as internal waves and microstructure. In the last decade or so, these techniques have been extended to the use broadband acoustic scattering techniques for more accurate inference of relevant biological and physical parameters, such as size or abundance of organisms or intensity of mixing. Rapid advances in instrumentation and deployment platforms have also enabled new insights to be gained. In this presentation, a brief overview of this research area is given. Then, results from a decade of work on the development and implementation of broadband scattering techniques for studying physical and biological processes over relevant spatial and temporal scales are presented. Finally, recent data from an estuarine plume, collected with a broadband sonar integrated onto a Remus-100 Autonomous Underwater Vehicle, are presented. Advances and limitations of new platforms and sensors to the future of acoustical oceanography are considered.