Broadband acoustic backscatter from crude oil under laboratory-grown sea ice

Author Posting. © Acoustical Society of America, 2016. This article is posted here by permission of Acoustical Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 140 (2016): 2274–2287, doi:10.1121/1.4963876.In ice-covered seas, traditional air-side oil spill detection methods face practical challenges. Conversely, under-ice remote sensing techniques are increasingly viable due to improving operational capabilities of autonomous and remotely operated vehicles. To investigate the potential for under-ice detection of oil spills using active acoustics, laboratory measurements of high-frequency, broadband backscatter (75–590 kHz) from crude oil layers (0.7–8.1 cm) under and encapsulated within sea ice were performed at normal and 20 incidence angles. Discrete interfaces (water-oil, oil-ice, and ice-oil) are identifiable in observations following oil injections under the ice and during the subsequent encapsulation. A one-dimensional model for the total normal incidence backscatter from oil under ice, constrained by oil sound speed measurements from 10 C to 20 C and improved environmental measurements compared to previous studies, agrees well with preencapsulation observations. At 20 incidence angles echoes from the ice and oil under ice are more complex and spatially variable than normal incidence observations, most likely due to interface roughness and volume inhomogeneities. Encapsulated oil layers are only detected at normal incidence. The results suggest that high-frequency, broadband backscatter techniques may allow under-ice remote sensing for the detection and quantification of oil spills.Funding for this research was provided by the International Oil and Gas Producers Arctic Oil Spill Technology Joint Industry Programme under Contract No. 28-13-14. C.B. was supported by the WHOI Postdoctoral Scholar Program with funding from the United States Geological Survey. A.C.L. was supported in part by the Ocean Acoustics Program at the Office of Naval Research

Observations of broadband acoustic backscattering from nonlinear internal waves : assessing the contribution from microstructure

Author Posting. © IEEE, 2010. This article is posted here by permission of IEEE for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering 35 (2010): 695-709, doi:10.1109/JOE.2010.2047814.In this paper, measurements of high-frequency broadband (160-590 kHz) acoustic backscattering from surface trapped nonlinear internal waves of depression are presented. These waves are ideal for assessing the contribution from oceanic microstructure to scattering as they are intensely turbulent. Almost coincident direct microstructure measurements were performed and zooplankton community structure was characterized using depth-resolved net sampling techniques. The contribution to scattering from microstructure can be difficult to distinguish from the contribution to scattering from zooplankton using a single narrowband frequency as microstructure and zooplankton are often colocated and can have similar scattering levels over a range of frequencies. Yet their spectra are distinct over a sufficiently broad frequency range, allowing broadband backscattering measurements to reduce the ambiguities typically associated with the interpretation of narrowband measurements. In addition, pulse compression signal processing techniques result in very high-resolution images, allowing physical processes that are otherwise hard to resolve to be imaged, such as Kelvin-Helmholtz shear instabilities. In this study, high-resolution acoustic observations of multiple nonlinear internal waves are presented and regions with distinct scattering spectra are identified. Spectra that decrease in level across the available frequency band were highly correlated to regions of intense turbulence and high stratification, and to Kevin-Helmholtz shear instabilities in particular. Spectra that increase in level across the available frequency band were consistent with scattering dominated by small zooplankton. Simple inversions for relevant microstructure parameters are presented. Limitations of, and improvements to, the broadband system and techniques utilized in this study are discussed.This work was supported in part by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and the U.S. Office of Naval Research under Grant N000140210359

Acoustic scattering from density and sound speed gradients : modeling of oceanic pycnoclines

Author Posting. © Acoustical Society of America, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of Acoustical Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 131 (2012): EL54-EL60, doi:10.1121/1.3669394.A weak-scattering model that allows prediction of acoustic scattering from oceanic pycnoclines (and the accompanying sound speed gradients) based on hydrographic profiles is described. Model predictions, based on profiles from four locations, indicate that scattering from oceanic pycnoclines is measurable using standard scientific sonars operating at frequencies up to 200 kHz but generally only for pycnocline thicknesses less than 10 m. Accurate scattering models are key to assessing whether acoustic remote sensing can be used to map oceanic pycnoclines and for determining whether scattering from pycnoclines needs to be taken into account when estimating, for instance, zooplankton abundance from acoustic data

Wideband (15–260 kHz) acoustic volume backscattering spectra of Northern krill (Meganyctiphanes norvegica) and butterfish (Peprilus triacanthus)

This paper is not subject to U.S. copyright. The definitive version was published in ICES Journal of Marine Science 74 (2017): 2249–2261, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsx050.Measurements of acoustic backscatter made over a wide frequency band have the potential for improved classification relative to traditional narrowband methods, by characterizing more fully the frequency response of scatterers. In January 2014, five wideband transceivers [Simrad EK80 Wideband Transceivers (WBTs)] and split-beam transducers with nominal centre frequencies of 18, 38, 70, 120, and 200 kHz were used to collect acoustic data spanning a nearly continuous 15–260 kHz bandwidth. The acoustic samples were from ca. 2 m below the surface to the seabed in an area along the US continental shelf break. Bottom trawls and zooplankton nets were also used to sample scatterers contributing to selected features of the acoustic backscatter. Measurements of frequency-dependent volume backscattering strength (i.e. volume backscattering spectra) from aggregations of euphausiids (mostly Northern krill, Meganyctiphanes norvegica) clearly resolved the transition from Rayleigh to geometric scattering, consistent with modelled backscatter from the type and length of animals sampled with bongo nets. Volume backscattering spectra from aggregations dominated by butterfish (Peprilus triacanthus) revealed a frequency response that was suggestive of superimposed scattering by soft tissue and bone. Backscatter predicted by Kirchhoff ray mode models of butterfish corresponded to trends in the measured spectra, supporting the assumption that acoustic scattering by butterfish is dominated by soft tissue and vertebrae.NOAA Advanced Sampling Technology Working Group (ASTWG) provided support for this project. GLL was partially supported by NOAA Cooperative Agreements NA09OAR4320129 and NA14OAR4320158 through the NOAA Fisheries Quantitative Ecology and Socioeconomics Training (QUEST) programme

Broadband acoustic quantification of stratified turbulence

Author Posting. © Acoustical Society of America, 2013. This article is posted here by permission of Acoustical Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 134 (2013): 40-54, doi:10.1121/1.4807780.High-frequency broadband acoustic scattering techniques have enabled the remote, high-resolution imaging and quantification of highly salt-stratified turbulence in an estuary. Turbulent salinity spectra in the stratified shear layer have been measured acoustically and by in situ turbulence sensors. The acoustic frequencies used span 120–600 kHz, which, for the highly stratified and dynamic estuarine environment, correspond to wavenumbers in the viscous-convective subrange (500–2500 m−1). The acoustically measured spectral levels are in close agreement with spectral levels measured with closely co-located micro-conductivity probes. The acoustically measured spectral shapes allow discrimination between scattering dominated by turbulent salinity microstructure and suspended sediments or swim-bladdered fish, the two primary sources of scattering observed in the estuary in addition to turbulent salinity microstructure. The direct comparison of salinity spectra inferred acoustically and by the in situ turbulence sensors provides a test of both the acoustic scattering model and the quantitative skill of acoustical remote sensing of turbulence dissipation in a strongly sheared and salt-stratified estuary.This work was supported by NSF grant OCE- 0824871, ONR grant N00014-0810495, and WHOI internal funds

Evaluation of an acoustic remote sensing method for frontal-zone studies using double-diffusive instability microstructure data and density interface data from intrusions

© The Author(s), 2016. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Methods in Oceanography 17 (2016): 264-281, doi:10.1016/j.mio.2016.09.004.Understanding intrusive exchange at oceanic water mass fronts may depend on building data-constrained models of the processes, but obtaining the needed representative and comprehensive data is challenging. Acoustic imaging (remote sensing) is an attractive method for mapping the three-dimensional intrusion geometry to enable the required focused in situ sampling of the mixing processes in intrusions. The method depends on backscatter of sound from sharp interfaces and from microstructure resulting from double-diffusive instability (DDI), a probable occurrence at intrusions. The potential of the method is evaluated using data collected using established methods in a field of intrusions south of New England. Above and beneath warm and salty intrusions may lie diffusive–convective DDI microstructure and salt-fingering microstructure, respectively, marking the intrusion boundaries, providing the backscattering features. The data show that both types of microstructure can occur in close proximity within intrusions, but the question of whether this is common or not is unanswered by the modest amount of data, as are questions about continuity of DDI-microstructure in intrusions (to facilitate intrusion acoustic imaging) and variability of DDI-driven heat, salt and buoyancy fluxes. Analysis here shows that detectable backscatter from DDI-microstructure will occur, and can be easily measured when plankton scattering is low enough. Interface scattering is also likely to be detectable. The DDI-linked microstructure data used here are inherently interesting in their own right and are presented in some detail.The data were collected under Office of Naval Research grant N00014-03-1-0335. Acoustic analysis was done under grant N00014-14-1-0223/N00014-16-1-2372

Use of the distorted wave Born approximation to predict scattering by inhomogeneous objects : application to squid

Author Posting. © Acoustical Society of America, 2009. This article is posted here by permission of Acoustical Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 125 (2009): 73-88, doi:10.1121/1.3021298.A new method has been developed to predict acoustic scattering by weakly scattering objects with three-dimensional variability in sound speed and density. This variability can take the form of inhomogeneities within the body of the scatterer and/or geometries where the acoustic wave passes through part of the scattering body, into the surrounding medium, and back into the body. This method applies the distorted wave Born approximation (DWBA) using a numerical approach that rigorously accounts for the phase changes within a scattering volume. Ranges of validity with respect to material properties and numerical considerations are first explored through comparisons with modal-series-based predictions of scattering by fluid-filled spherical and cylindrical fluid shells. The method is then applied to squid and incorporates high resolution spiral computerized tomography (SCT) scans of the complex morphology of the organism. Target strength predictions based on the SCT scans are compared with published backscattering data from live, freely swimming and tethered squid. The new method shows significant improvement for both single-orientation and orientation-averaged scattering predictions over the DWBA-homogeneous-prolate-spheroid model

Orientation dependence of broadband acoustic backscattering from live squid

Author Posting. © Acoustical Society of America, 2012. This article is posted here by permission of Acoustical Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 131 (2012): 4461-4475, doi:10.1121/1.3701876.A controlled laboratory experiment of broadband acoustic backscattering from live squid (Loligo pealeii) was conducted using linear chirp signals (60–103 kHz) with data collected over the full 360° of orientation in the lateral plane, in <1° increments. The acoustic measurements were compared with an analytical prolate spheroid model and a three-dimensional numerical model with randomized squid shape, both based on the distorted-wave Born approximation formulation. The data were consistent with the hypothesized fluid-like scattering properties of squid. The contributions from the front and back interfaces of the squid were found to dominate the scattering at normal incidence, while the arms had a significant effect at other angles. The three-dimensional numerical model predictions out-performed the prolate spheroid model over a wide range of orientations. The predictions were found to be sensitive to the shape parameters, including the arms and the fins. Accurate predictions require setting these shape parameters to best describe the most probable squid shape for different applications. The understanding developed here serves as a basis for the accurate interpretation of in situ acoustic scattering measurements of squid.Funding for this research was provided by the Taiwan Merit Scholarship (NSC-095-SAF-I-564-021-TMS) and the Academic Program Office at WHOI

Exploiting signal processing approaches for broadband echosounders

© International Council for the Exploration of the Sea, 2017. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in ICES Journal of Marine Science 74 (2017): 2262–2275, doi:10.1093/icesjms/fsx155.Broadband echosounders, which transmit frequency-modulated pulses, increase the spectral characterization of targets relative to narrowband echosounders, which typically transmit single-frequency pulses, and also increase the range resolution through broadband matched-filter signal processing approaches. However, the increased range resolution does not necessarily lead to improved detection and characterization of targets close to boundaries due to the presence of undesirable signal processing side lobes. The standard approach to mitigating the impact of processing side lobes is to transmit tapered signals, which has the consequence of also reducing spectral information. To address this, different broadband signal processing approaches are explored using data collected in a large tank with both a Kongsberg–Simrad EK80 scientific echosounder with a combination of single- and split-beam transducers with nominal centre frequencies of 18, 38, 70, 120, 200, and 333 kHz, and with a single-beam custom-built echosounder spanning the frequency band from 130 to 195 kHz. It is shown that improved detection and characterization of targets close to boundaries can be achieved by using modified replica signals in the matched filter processing. An additional benefit to using broadband echosounders involves exploiting the frequency dependence of the beam pattern to calibrate single-beam broadband echosounders using an off-axis calibration sphere.This research was supported by the NOAA Office of Science and Technology, Advanced Sampling Technology Working Group. G.L.L. was partially supported by NOAA Cooperative Agreements NA09OAR4320129 and NA14OAR4320158 through the NOAA Fisheries Quantitative Ecology and Socieconomics Training (QUEST) program. A.C.L. was partially supported through the Office of Naval Research Ocean Acoustics Program

Frequency- and depth-dependent target strength measurements of individual mesopelagic scatterers

Author Posting. © Acoustical Society of America, 2020. This article is posted here by permission of Acoustical Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 148(2),(2020): EL153-EL158, doi:10.1121/10.0001745.Recent estimates based on shipboard echosounders suggest that 50% or more of global fish biomass may reside in the mesopelagic zone (depths of ∼200–1000 m). Nonetheless, little is known about the acoustic target strengths (TS) of mesopelagic animals because ship-based measurements cannot resolve individual targets. As a result, biomass estimates of mesopelagic organisms are poorly constrained. Using an instrumented tow-body, broadband (18–90 kHz) TS measurements were obtained at depths from 70 to 850 m. A comparison between TS measurements at-depth and values used in a recent global estimate of mesopelagic biomass suggests lower target densities at most depths.Development of Deep-See was funded by the National Science Foundation (Grant No. OCE MRI 1626087), field work was funded by NOAA, and ongoing support is provided by the WHOI Audacious/TED Project. Mike Jech (NOAA NWFSC) and WHOI collaborators Bob Pettit, Kaitlyn Tradd, Peter Weibe, and Joel Llopiz contributed to development and fieldwork