Marine geophysical data is critical for industry and BOEM to make informed leasing decisions. High-frequency marine acoustic sources are commonly used to acquire this data for infrastructure siting, geological or environmental characterization, and shallow hazard or archaeological cultural surveys. The acoustic sources currently in use include boomers; sparkers; subbottom (chirp or other) profilers; side-scan sonar; and single, swath, and multi-beam bathymetric fathometers. This report is the third of related reports designed to characterize and predict the sound fields of these sources in shallow water. The first report, BOEM 2016-044, detailed the source measurement of 17 sources by the Naval Undersea Warfare Center, Newport, Rhode Island, at their facilities and in controlled environments. The second report, BOEM 2018-052, detailed the at-sea measurement of those same sources (plus several hull-mounted sonars) in the shallow water (10-, 30-, and 100-m deep) off Virginia and Maryland. This report recommends an acoustic modeling approach for sources in other shallow water areas and conditions.

USD: $650,908

2019-07-15 → 2021-06-14