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Scientists and engineers in the Ocean Acoustics Lab are
conducting research that will lead to a better understanding of
the mechanisms of sound propagation in the oceans, and,
conversely, how acoustic transmissions themselves can be
employed to measure the physical properties of the ocean and
its boundaries. Low frequency sound energy is used to probe
beneath the sea floor and to measure temperatures and currents
in the water column. High frequency energy is used to measure
temperature microstructure, small-scale currents and wind-blown
surface roughness. Many of the tools and techniques for ocean
acoustics tomography originated in OAL where they are still the
focus of active research. Underwater acousticians in OAL are
involved in a wide spectrum of research areas including sonar
array performance, acoustic imaging, sound scattering from the
Arctic ice and from biologics. OAL scientists and engineers
work all over the globe. Recent experiments have been conducted
in the frig id Norwegian Sea and the tropical Tasman Sea, in
the Gulf of Mexico, the Mediterranean, and the Atlantic and
Pacific Oceans.
Website: "http://www.oal.whoi.edu/"
[Summary provided by The Ocean Acoustics Lab, Woods Hole
Oceanographic Institution.]
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