Underwater Acoustics and Geoacoustics

Underwater acoustics research in AMP is concerned with the generation, propagation and scattering of sound in the ocean and seafloor, and the development of acoustic remote sensing techniques. This work encompasses theory, numerical modeling, field work in both deep and shallow water, and data analysis. The Ocean Acoustics Group has over 20 years experience in instrument development, computer modelling, and conducting acoustic experiments at sea. The geoacoustics laboratory specializes in seafloor acoustics. Underwater sound has a special place in the context of ocean remote sensing. This is because the ocean is essentially opaque to electromagnetic radiation but is transparent to acoustic radiation. Thus, electromagnetic techniques are limited to sensing the sea surface and/or the near field of the sensor. In contrast, the entire ocean volume and seafloor are accessible to acoustic imaging systems.


parabolic equation field plot

Underwater acoustic applications include: underwater communication; water column acoustic tomography; basin-scale acoustic thermometry; bottom identification and classification; seafloor tomography to remotely sense geoacoustic properties; fisheries acoustics; plankton biomass estimation; monitoring suspended sediment and bedload transport; probing of small-scale fluid processes including turbulence, wave breaking and salt fingering.

AMP's acoustics interests overlap with those of MBF on fisheries acoustics and high-frequency backscatter from plankton, and MGG on geoacoustics/seismics.

Other related links: South Florida Ocean Measurement Center (SFOMC), Acoustic Surface Reverberation Experiment (ASREX), Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate (ATOC), American Geophysical Union (AGU), Acoustical Society of America (ASA), IEEE, The Oceanography Society (TOS), WHOI Ocean Acoustics Lab