UPAL: Underwater passive aquatic listener

Underwater ambient sound contains quantifiable information about the sound source. In the frequency band from 500 Hz to 50 kHz, dominant geophysical sources of underwater sound include the sound of breaking waves and rainfall. Other sound sources in the marine environment include: (1) geophysical sources such as earthquakes and volcanoes, (2) biological sources such as cetaceans, pinnipeds, fish and crustaceans, and (3) anthropogenic noises such as shipping, industrial noise and sonar. In this paper, we address the design and development of a low-duty cycle underwater passive aquatic listener (UPAL) sensor to monitor the ambient noise in marine environments. This sensor can also detect acoustic events such as rain storms, passing ships and marine animals. Further, the UPAL sensor includes real-time classification and quantification of the observed sound sources. Data from real experiments will be presented.