Acoustic Sensing Techniques for the Shallow Water Environment

Acoustic remote sensing of the ocean environment has seen a remarkable progress in the last ten fifteen year as a result of an increasing understanding of the experimental techniques and procedures and of the subtleties of the interaction of sound with complex physical and biological processes. This is particularly true in the shallow water environment, where acoustic methods have the potential to allow for a fast and accurate characterization and assessment of the environment. To review the state of the art and the research progress in the field, a workshop was held in the island of Ischia, Italy, in June 2004. Special emphasis has been placed on the experimental applications, to realistically assess their potential and capabilities of the methods proposed. This volume, based on the workshop presentations, include a range of diverse and innovative applications, as well as comparisons in the field among competing approaches and review papers.§The invited contributions range from ocean acoustic tomography to estimation of the seabed and subbottom properties, to marine biology; ambient noise in the ocean is increasingly being investigated as a replacement for traditional acoustic source, to make acoustic inversion even less invasive and more environmentally friendly as a methodology to probe the ocean. §Audience: This book is primarily intended for physicists and engineers working in underwater acoustics and oceanic engineering. It will also be of interest to marine biologists, geophysicists and oceanographers as potential users of the methodologies and techniques described in the book contributions.This volume contains the collection of papers from the second workshop on Experimental Acoustic Inversion Techniques for Exploration of the Shallow Water Environment. §Acoustic techniques provide the most effective means for remote sensing of ocean and sea floor processes, and for probing the structure beneath the sea floor. No other energy propagates as efficiently in the ocean: radio waves and visible light are severely limited in range because the ocean is a highly conductive medium. However, sound from breaking waves and coastal shipping can be heard throughout the ocean, and marine mammals communicate acoustically over basin scale distances.§The papers in this book indicate a high level of research interest that has generated significant progress in development and application of experimental acoustic inversion techniques. The applications span a broad scope in geosciences, from geophysical, biological and even geochemical research. The list includes: estimation of geotechnical properties of sea bed materials; navigation and mapping of the sea floor; fisheries, aquaculture and sea bed habitat assessment; monitoring of marine mammals; sediment transport; and investigation of natural geohazards in marine sediments.§Audience§This book is primarily intended for physicists and engineers working in underwater acoustics and oceanic engineering. It will also be of interest to marine biologists, geophysicists and oceanographers as potential users of the methodologies and techniques described in the book contributions.§CD Rom containing full color images which are printed in black and white in the book.This volume contains the collection of papers from the second workshop on Experimental Acoustic Inversion Techniques for Exploration of the Shallow Water Environment. §Acoustic techniques provide the most effective means for remote sensing of ocean and sea floor processes, and for probing the structure beneath the sea floor. No other energy propagates as efficiently in the ocean: radio waves and visible light are severely limited in range because the ocean is a highly conductive medium. However, sound from breaking waves and coastal shipping can be heard throughout the ocean, and marine mammals communicate acoustically over basin scale distances.§The papers in this book indicate a high level of research interest that has generated significant progress in development and application of experimental acoustic inversion techniques. The applications span a broad scope in geosciences, from geophysical, biological and even geochemical research. The list includes: estimation of geotechnical properties of sea bed materials; navigation and mapping of the sea floor; fisheries, aquaculture and sea bed habitat assessment; monitoring of marine mammals; sediment transport; and investigation of natural geohazards in marine sediments.§Audience§This book is primarily intended for physicists and engineers working in underwater acoustics and oceanic engineering. It will also be of interest to marine biologists, geophysicists and oceanographers as potential users of the methodologies and techniques described in the book contributions.