Archival, autonomously-deployed acoustic monitoring systems at the University of New Hampshire

The ocean is continuously changing, and multiple dynamic processes influence the underwater environment over time scales that may vary from minutes to years. As the generation, propagation, and scattering of sound in the ocean is closely tied to the environment, underwater acoustic signals also change over multiple time scales. The Center for Acoustics Research and Education at the University of New Hampshire is developing and deploying autonomous active and passive acoustic sensing platforms to conduct long-term monitoring of the environment in the Gulf of Maine. The platforms are deployed from surface vessels and rest on the seafloor, making measurements at regular intervals. The platforms vary in configuration but contain acoustic sensors (passive hydrophones and active, split-aperture echosounders at multiple frequencies, current profilers) and non-acoustic sensors (cameras, CTDs). This presentation will provide an overview of these platforms, their deployment, operation, and applications of the data to understand temporal changes in the underwater environment.