Observational and Model-Based Assessment of a Self-Contained Receiver for Long-Range Underwater Acoustic Geolocalization

Document Type

Article

Date of Original Version

7-1-2025

Abstract

The RAFOS ocean acoustic monitoring (ROAM) tag is a miniature, low-cost, attachable device that is de-signed to augment oceanographic float instruments, autonomous vehicles, and marine wildlife with RAFOS-style subsur-face acoustic geolocation. Equipped with an acoustic receiver, clock crystal, internal batteries, and temperature sensor, ROAM tags detect the arrival times of regularly scheduled signals from low-frequency underwater sound sources. Once the data are recovered, these records enable trilateration of subsurface positions over months to years. Tag success im-proves with proximity to the deep ocean sound channel (approximately 500–1300-m depth), where the range of sound sources can extend for hundreds of kilometers. Here, we analyze geolocation results from a pilot study using a tag-equipped glider in the vicinity of a moored sound source. We also evaluate predictions of transmission strength and positional uncertainty for different source configurations based on acoustic models. With this analysis and discussion, we aim to offer a comprehensive description of considerations for successful ROAM tag deployments, such as depth regime (shallow versus deep water), environmental characteristics of the water and sediments, and sound source arrangement.

Publication Title, e.g., Journal

Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology

Volume

42

Issue

7

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