Development of a high frequency ambient noise data acquisition system

Abstract

High frequency ambient noise has a significant impact on the operation of many Sonars and related systems. Therefore, understanding the temporal and spatial distributions of this noise in shallow water is crucial. Existing high-bandwidth acoustic data acquisition systems are large and complex. This project has developed a novel stand-alone, portable, and compact cylindrical package (23cm i?? by 60cm length) that can be rapidly and flexibly deployed in various configurations. It has 4 simultaneous sampling analog channels (up to 5MSa/s aggregate) and is capable of beamforming in 3D space using a tetrahedral array configuration. This system has provided both time-space distributions and directivity of high frequency ambient noise in Singapore waters for the first time.