Modification and Deployment Techniques for Hand-Deployed Arctic Long-Life Sonobuoys

摘要

Underwater acoustic measurements made from the ice in Arctic regions often require unmanned remote hydrophones. The purpose may be to set up an under-ice acoustic tracking range, to avoid ice stations generated noise, and/or to measure transmission loss. in any case, it is desirable to utilize system that is reliable, low cost, easy to operate, rugged, and that requires no maintenance. These desirable traits can be satisfied by utilizing a hand-deployed remote hydrophone system based on modified sonobuoys. This paper presents specific methods and equipment used to modify, power, and hand-deploy AN/SSQ-57A sonobuoys in the Arctic. The methods and suggestions can be easily extended for use with other types of sonobuoys. The modified sonobuoys transmit continuously for up to 30 days from a remote unmanned site to a manned base camp over a range of 20 km. Sample acoustic data from the APLIS 87 ice station will be presented. Reprints. (RRH)