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Oceanography in 2025 Proceedings of a Workshop (2009) / Chapter Skim
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The Role of Acoustics in Ocean Observing Systems--Peter Worcester and Walter Munk
Pages 58-62

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From page 58...
... As a result, institutional and organizational arrangements that were developed during the Cold War are unlikely to be able to continue unchanged. It is becoming more and more obvious, for example, that oceanography will be unable to continue to support the numbers of individuals funded solely by grants to perform basic research that has been the norm in the *
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From page 59...
... A triad of observational tools -- satellite altimetry, hydrography performed by profiling floats and gliders, and acoustic remote sensing -- combined with the development of ever more realistic ocean modeling and data assimilation capabilities, have revolutionized and continue to revolutionize our ability to observe the physical state of the ocean. One possible outcome is that there may well be a shift toward the paradigm of meteorology, if society comes to believe that operational ocean observation systems are justified in terms of products useful to society, as operational atmospheric observational systems are now.
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From page 60...
... After a century of measuring what turned out to be ocean climate, physical oceanographers are finally developing the tools, including acoustic methods and gliders, needed to measure ocean variability on the time and space scales important to ocean ecosystems. Tracking or underwater GPS Relatively crude acoustic tracking of neutrally buoyant floats (Sound Fixing And Ranging [SOFAR]
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From page 61...
... Monitoring of underwater sound Monitoring ocean sound is valuable for a variety of reasons, rang ing from detection of underwater earthquakes, to detecting clandestine explosive tests (e.g., Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organiza tion [CTBTO] hydrophone arrays)
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From page 62...
... Ocean models, data assimilation, and operational oceanography Ocean acoustic tomography has been successfully used to measure ocean temperatures and currents on a wide variety of scales for thirty years, but acoustic data still seem unfamiliar to many oceanographers. As the normal use of ocean data becomes assimilated into ocean models to estimate the present (and future)
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Key Terms

  • ocean models
  • profiling floats
  • travel times
  • operational ocean
  • measure ocean

  • acoustic data
  • ocean variability
  • ocean observation
  • ocean ecosystems
  • performing basic

  • physical oceanographers
  • mesoscale variability
  • neutrally buoyant
  • data assimilation
  • capital costs

  • scale changes
  • buoyant floats
  • observational tools
  • upper ocean
  • ocean data

  • ocean temperatures
  • including acoustic
  • ocean observing
  • ocean acoustic
  • realistic ocean

  • constrain ocean
  • world ocean
  • lower operational
  • basic oceanographic
  • ocean sound


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