Through-the-sensor sub-bottom imaging using the self-noise of an autonomous underwater vehiclea)

Karim G Sabra; Paige Pfenninger; Ying-Tsong Lin

doi:10.1121/10.0035420

Through-the-sensor sub-bottom imaging using the self-noise of an autonomous underwater vehiclea)

JASA Express Lett. 2025 Jan 1;5(1):017301. doi: 10.1121/10.0035420.

Authors

Karim G Sabra¹, Paige Pfenninger², Ying-Tsong Lin³

Affiliations

¹ School of Mechanical Engineering, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30332, USA.
² MIT-WHOI Joint Program, Cambridge, Massachusetts 02139, USA.
³ Scripps Institution of Oceanography, University of California San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093, [email protected], [email protected], [email protected].

PMID: 39847440
DOI: 10.1121/10.0035420

Abstract

This work demonstrates the feasibility of performing through-the-sensor (TTS) sub-bottom imaging using low-frequency ([100 Hz-1kHz]) self-noise generated by the propulsion of an autonomous underwater vehicle (AUV) acting as a source of opportunity. The self-noise was recorded by a short towed horizontal line array (11.4 m aperture) by the same AUV while it operated ∼35 m above the seabed along a range-dependent section at the New England shelf break. The seabed and sub-bottom layers imaged by this TTS method were found to be consistent with the images simultaneously obtained at higher frequency [2.5-4.5 kHz] using a conventional active source mounted on the AUV.