The 2016–2017 deep-water Canada Basin Acoustic Propagation Experiment (CANAPE): A preliminary report

Abstract

The Arctic Ocean is undergoing dramatic changes in both ice cover and ocean structure. The Canada Basin Acoustic Propagation Experiment (CANAPE), which includes both deep and shallow water components, was designed to understand the effects of changing Arctic conditions on low-frequency propagation and ambient noise. The deep-water component, which is reported on here, includes a yearlong experiment in the Canada Basin during 2016–2017, preceded by a short Pilot Study during July–August 2015. During 2016-2017, a Distributed Vertical Line Array (DVLA) receiver with 60 Hydrophone Modules was moored within a six-element acoustic transceiver array with a 150-km radius. Environmental measurements on the DVLA include 28 Sea-Bird MicroCATs and upward- and downward-looking Acoustic Doppler Current Profilers (ADCPs) located below the hydrophone array. The acoustic transceivers had sources at 175-m depth and 15 Hydrophone Modules located above the sources. Environmental measurements on the transceiver moorings include ice-profiling sonars, upward-looking ADCPs on the subsurface floats, and 10 temperature sensors located below the acoustic transceivers. The one-year deployment provides measurements at least partially in open water during summer, in the marginal ice zone (MIZ) as it transitions across the array during the spring and autumn, and under complete ice cover during winter.