Underwater bubble low frequency source for Arctic acoustic tomography, navigation, and communication

Arctic acoustic tomography requires a broadband source in the frequency range of 5–100 Hz. To meet this requirement, Teledyne Marine suggests applying a seismic source, recently developed for the Marine Vibrator Joint Industry Project. The source is considered to be less harmful for marine inhabitants and gives more precise and higher resolution imaging of the subsurface formations and structures. The coherent source is based on the application of an underwater, gas filled bubble resonator covered by an elastic membrane. The membrane supports high volume displacement. The sources are not sensitive to cavitation and to coupling effects. The fluid dynamics and acoustics of a spherical resonator are defined by the Rayleigh-Plesset equation. The buoyancy deforms the shape of a real bubble from spherical. The 3D simulation and experiments have shown that a cylindrical form is a practical engineering solution. It performances similar to a spherical bubble, keeps its shape and can be towed with a high speed. The...