FAU Awarded Research Grant to Measure the Acoustic Properties of the Seabed

George V. Frisk, Ph.D., a professor in the Department of Ocean and Mechanical Engineering within the College of Engineering and Computer Science at Florida Atlantic University, was awarded a $100,000 research grant from the Office of Naval Research (ONR)  to continue his work on measuring the acoustic properties of the seabed in shallow-water environments. Knowledge of these properties is critical for the effective operation of naval sonar systems and for the accurate prediction of underwater acoustic fields.  In addition, the techniques developed by Frisk will provide a database that can be used to estimate the geological structure of the seabed.

Frisk, the principal investigator of the three-year project, and ocean engineering  doctoral student, Camilo Roa will be conducting the research at SeaTech, The Institute for Ocean and Systems Engineering, on the FAU, Dania Beach campus.

The field work is based on the Modal Mapping Experiment which involves a low-frequency sound source that transmits signals which are received on several drifting hydrophones and transmitted to a source ship using radio telemetry.  Since the experimental geometry is measured very accurately using GPS technology, the acoustic data is acquired on synthetic aperture horizontal arrays of receivers, which are created as the buoys drift away from the source.  Inversion methods are then used to process the data and infer the desired geoacoustic properties of the seabed.