Chapter 8
Acoustic Methods Overview
Bernhard Riegl and Humberto Guarin
Abstract Acoustic methods are widely used for the production of physical,
environmental and biological data required for the responsible management of
marine resources, such as coral reefs. Here, we review the basic physical properties of sound in water that can be harnessed for active or passive acoustic remote
sensing systems. Sound, by assessing the return characteristics of emitted sound
waves, can be used to derive information on seafloor topography via depth
(obtained by measuring travel time), on seafloor makeup (obtained by measuring
backscatter intensity), or on water column characteristics (obtained by measuring
Doppler shifts). Sound is also used to track organisms such as fish or even to create
images by harnessing natural sound sources to ‘‘illuminate’’ objects like fish.
Acoustic methods have a place in the toolbox of every coral reef manager.
8.1 Introduction
Acoustic methods used in the ocean are frequently subsumed under the term
(SONAR) Sound Navigation And Ranging, but this is in reality only a subset of the
full array of available techniques. Acoustic methods are extremely versatile and
find many applications as ‘active’ or ‘passive’ technologies. SONAR, an active
technology, is similar to radar or (LiDAR) Light Detection And Ranging,
B. Riegl (&)
National Coral Reef Institute, Oceanographic Center, Nova Southeastern University,
8000 N. Ocean Drive, Dania, FL 33004, USA
e-mail: rieglb@nova.edu
H. Guarin
Bert Instruments Inc, 2646 Sherman St, Hollywood, FL 33020, USA
e-mail: hguarin@bertinst.com
J. A. Goodman et al. (eds.), Coral Reef Remote Sensing,
DOI: 10.1007/978-90-481-9292-2_8,
Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013
195
Acoustic Methods Overview
Bernhard Riegl and Humberto Guarin
Abstract Acoustic methods are widely used for the production of physical,
environmental and biological data required for the responsible management of
marine resources, such as coral reefs. Here, we review the basic physical properties of sound in water that can be harnessed for active or passive acoustic remote
sensing systems. Sound, by assessing the return characteristics of emitted sound
waves, can be used to derive information on seafloor topography via depth
(obtained by measuring travel time), on seafloor makeup (obtained by measuring
backscatter intensity), or on water column characteristics (obtained by measuring
Doppler shifts). Sound is also used to track organisms such as fish or even to create
images by harnessing natural sound sources to ‘‘illuminate’’ objects like fish.
Acoustic methods have a place in the toolbox of every coral reef manager.
8.1 Introduction
Acoustic methods used in the ocean are frequently subsumed under the term
(SONAR) Sound Navigation And Ranging, but this is in reality only a subset of the
full array of available techniques. Acoustic methods are extremely versatile and
find many applications as ‘active’ or ‘passive’ technologies. SONAR, an active
technology, is similar to radar or (LiDAR) Light Detection And Ranging,
B. Riegl (&)
National Coral Reef Institute, Oceanographic Center, Nova Southeastern University,
8000 N. Ocean Drive, Dania, FL 33004, USA
e-mail: rieglb@nova.edu
H. Guarin
Bert Instruments Inc, 2646 Sherman St, Hollywood, FL 33020, USA
e-mail: hguarin@bertinst.com
J. A. Goodman et al. (eds.), Coral Reef Remote Sensing,
DOI: 10.1007/978-90-481-9292-2_8,
Ó Springer Science+Business Media Dordrecht 2013
195