Sea trial of Delphinus; a towed array for marine mammal detection
other
World-wide a concern exists about the influence of man-made sound on marine life and particularly on
marine mammals. One of the acoustic polluters of the world’s oceans is high-power active sonar. An
early warning system at the sound source, which is based on passive detection of marine mammals,
could avoid exposure of marine mammals to dangerous sound levels. For this purpose an experimental
towed array is developed at TNO. The problem with detection of marine mammals is the wide variety
of produced sounds. The frequencies may range from 10 Hz (calls from baleen whales), up to more
than 100 kHz (clicks from porpoises). The newly developed Delphinus array has a directional detection
mode up to 12 kHz and an omni-directional mode up to 40 kHz. It should be able to detect most
mammal marine vocalisations. The performance of the Delphinus array was tested at sea, where the
added value of a high-frequency towed array was clearly demonstrated. Ultra-sonic clicks, probably of
beaked whales that are highly vulnerable to high-intensity sound, were detected with the arra
marine mammals. One of the acoustic polluters of the world’s oceans is high-power active sonar. An
early warning system at the sound source, which is based on passive detection of marine mammals,
could avoid exposure of marine mammals to dangerous sound levels. For this purpose an experimental
towed array is developed at TNO. The problem with detection of marine mammals is the wide variety
of produced sounds. The frequencies may range from 10 Hz (calls from baleen whales), up to more
than 100 kHz (clicks from porpoises). The newly developed Delphinus array has a directional detection
mode up to 12 kHz and an omni-directional mode up to 40 kHz. It should be able to detect most
mammal marine vocalisations. The performance of the Delphinus array was tested at sea, where the
added value of a high-frequency towed array was clearly demonstrated. Ultra-sonic clicks, probably of
beaked whales that are highly vulnerable to high-intensity sound, were detected with the arra
TNO Identifier
221681
Publisher
Nexus Media, Ltd
Source title
Undersea Defence Technology - UDT Europe 2005 - Shaping the future of Undersea Defence, 21-23 juni 2005, RAI, Amsterdam, The Netherlands
Place of publication
Swanley, Kent
Files
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