Acoustic measurements

This is an autonomous, all-in-one technology used for quantifying ambient/background noise, broadband marine mammal detection (low, mid and high frequency cetaceans, such as baleen whales, dolphins and porpoises), and animal localisation in three dimensions, as well as anthropogenic noise during post-processing. The product can be deployed from the side of a fixed installation or moored to the seabed. Data are sampled as high as 750 Ksps, on up to five channels simultaneously, and can be telemetered real-time via a variety of techniques back to a vessel or shore-based user. Unlike OSC’s towed arrays, the system resolves the problem of left-right ambiguity, by employing beamforming techniques. This enables acquisition of bearing estimation of targets, which renders it appropriate for studying marine mammal behaviour and underwater movement. The system comes with a beamforming ‘app’, enabling the user to detect animals in the presence of strong interferers (such as a turbine). The system offers great flexibility for addition of other sensors, such as echolocation-click detectors, cameras, or oceanographical instruments (turbidity, fluorescence, CTD etc.).