Development of a large-aperture coherent hydrophone array, data processing and analysis software system for instantaneous wide-area passive acoustic monitoring of marine mammals

该项目旨在开发和提供高分辨率相干水听器阵列硬件技术，用于基于合规的海洋哺乳动物监测，以支持联合国生命线行动研究船上的地震调查作业。大孔径密集采样水听器阵列系统通过相干波束形成来消除信号波束外的噪声，从而提高信号的信噪比，从而显著增强海洋哺乳动物发声探测能力。通过大孔径水听器阵列系统的相干波束形成，可以将单个水听器或稀疏阵列无法检测到的鲸鱼发声从噪声底中提取出来。相干波束形成还提供了鲸鱼发声方位的高分辨率估计，这是从阵列中找到鲸鱼的范围和在地理空间中定位海洋哺乳动物所必需的。除了阵列硬件外，该项目还旨在开发实时阵列信号数据采集、处理和分析软件，对相干水听器阵列硬件系统接收到的海洋哺乳动物发声进行实时检测、方位估计、定位跟踪和分类。硬件系统和软件系统共同构成了被动海声波导遥感技术。POAWRS是一种变革性的海洋传感方法，因为它能够监测直径超过100公里的瞬时广域声源。除了海洋哺乳动物的发声，POAWRS探测到的其他声源还包括生物，如鱼类和甲壳类动物的声音；地球物理过程，如飓风和海底火山；以及人为活动，如船舶和其他海洋交通工具，地震气枪和地震板块构造研究和石油勘探的火花，以及海上打桩。POAWRS揭示的即时大陆架尺度环境监测能力和声源的时空动态使其成为一项重要技术，可以成为野外作业中不可或缺的工具，例如大规模海洋生态研究、渔业种群评估和管理、《海洋哺乳动物保护法》规定的地震调查和海军声纳监视作业中基于遵守的海洋哺乳动物监测。以及人造声音对海洋生态系统影响的研究。当与有源声源或地震源（如RV Langseth）相结合时，所提出的仪器可以扩展到地球物理、渔业、生态和考古调查中物体和特征的大规模成像。该项目为包括妇女和代表性不足的少数民族在内的多元化团队提供了培训和发展工作的机会。首席研究员已经并将继续主持并为K-12学生、本科生和教师提供机会，通过东北大学的STEM教育中心、教师研究经验（RET）、青年学者计划（YSP）和各种本科生研究机会项目，为海洋探索和发现做出贡献。他们已经并将继续访问小学、初中和高中，提供海洋发现和通过海洋声音感知的示范和实践培训。

This project aims to develop and provide high-resolution coherent hydrophone array hardware technology for compliance based marine mammal monitoring in support of seismic survey operations on UNOLs research vessels. A large-aperture densely-sampled hydrophone array system can provide significant enhancement in marine mammal vocalization detection by increasing signal-to-noise ratio via coherent beamforming which eliminates noise outside of the signal beam. Whale vocalizations not detected using a single hydrophone or sparse array can be extracted out of the noise floor by coherent beamforming with the large aperture hydrophone array system. The coherent beamforming also provides high-resolution estimates of whale vocalization bearings which are required for finding the range of the whale from the array and localizing the marine mammal in geographic space. In addition to the array hardware, the project also aims to develop a real-time array signal data acquisition, processing and analysis software to provide real-time detection, bearing-estimation, localization and tracking, and classification of marine mammal vocalizations received on the coherent hydrophone array hardware system. The hardware and software systems together make up the passive ocean acoustic waveguide remote sensing (POAWRS) technology.POAWRS is a transformative approach for ocean sensing, since it is capable of monitoring sound sources over instantaneous wide areas spanning 100 km or more in diameter. In addition to marine mammal vocalizations, the other sound sources detected by POAWRS include biology such as sounds from fish and crustaceans; geophysical processes such as hurricanes and submarine volcanoes; and man-made activities such as ships and other ocean vehicles, seismic airgun and sparker for earthquake plate tectonic studies and oil exploration, as well as offshore piling. The instantaneous continental-shelf scale environmental monitoring capability and temporal-spatial dynamics of sound sources revealed by POAWRS makes it an important technology that could become an indispensable tool in field operations, such as large-scale marine ecological studies, fisheries stock assessments and management, compliance-based marine mammal monitoring mandated by the Marine Mammal Protection Act in seismic surveys and naval sonar surveillance operations, as well as in studies of the effects of man-made sound on marine ecosystems. When combined with an active acoustic or seismic source, such as on the RV Langseth, the proposed instrumentation can be extended for large-scale imaging of objects and features in geophysical, fisheries, ecological and archeological surveys. The project provides an opportunity for training and development work to a diverse team that includes both women and under-represented minorities. The principal investigator has and will continue to host and provide opportunities for K-12 students, undergraduates and teachers to learn and contribute to ocean exploration and discovery through Northeastern University's STEM Education Center, Research Experience for Teachers (RET), Young Scholars Program (YSP) and various undergraduate research opportunity programs. They have and will continue to visit elementary, middle and high schools to provide demonstrations and hands-on training in ocean discovery and sensing through ocean sounds.