Spatial diversity equalization applied to underwater communications

Underwater acoustic digital communication is difficult because of the nature of the fading multipath channels. Digital signal processing, such as adaptive equalization, is known to greatly improve the communication data rate by limiting intersymbol interference (ISI). However, existing underwater acoustic equalization studies are limited to single-channel techniques, and spatial diversity processing is limited to selection or combining. In this paper, we design minimum mean-square error (MMSE) equalizers jointly among all spatial diversity channels. We call this spatial diversity equalization (SDE). Results are based on a very sparse vertical array in a midrange underwater acoustic channel. We study the effect of element number and placement, the length of the equalization filters, and linear feedforward versus nonlinear decision feedback algorithms. A suboptimum equalizer combiner (EC) is studied to alleviate the computational intensity of JCE. We first design the system for a known acoustic channel; later, some results are verified using adaptive algorithms. Results are presented both in terms of the mean-square error (MSE) and the probability of a symbol error. The latter is important as it is the ultimate interest for a digital communication system. We found that system performance improves rapidly with an increase in the number of spatial channels     

Adaptive equalization techniques for acoustic telemetry channels

A tutorial review of adaptive equalization techniques for combating intersymbol interference in high-speed digital communications over time-dispersive channels is given. Various equalizer structures and the associated adaptive algorithms, including both fractionally spaced and symbol-spaced equalizers, are presented. Also considered is the application of adaptive equalization techniques to underwater acoustic telemetry channels     

Teleprogramming for subsea teleoperation using acousticcommunication

This paper considers the performance of subsea intervention tasks from an unmanned untethered submersible while using acoustic communications. It is argued that the low bandwidth and high delay imposed by acoustic modems makes it unwise to adopt conventional teleoperation techniques and a system is presented which permits subsea teleoperative tasks to be carried out using such limited communication resources. The described implementation employs active techniques to assist the operator both in performing actions and in recovering from those problems which will inevitably occur during real-world interaction. It provides the operator with both simulated and real visual imagery and is designed to adapt dynamically to changing bandwidth and computational resources. Experiments are described in which an operator in Philadelphia, PA, controlled a robot manipulator mounted on the JASON underwater vehicle submerged off the Massachusetts coast. All communication over this 500-km distance was via a combination of Internet and a simulated acoustic link. Analysis of the bandwidth requirements showed them to be consistent with those from acoustic subsea networks     

Spatial diversity processing for underwater acoustic telemetry

A large increase in the reliability of shipboard or stationary underwater acoustic telemetry systems is achievable by using spatially distributed receivers with aperture sizes from 0.35 to 20 m. Output from each receiver is assigned a quality measure based on the estimated error rate, and the data, weighted by the quality measure, are combined and decoded. The quality measure is derived from a Viterbi error-correction decoder operating on each receiver and is shown to perform reliability in a variety of non-Gaussian noise and jamming environments and reduce to the traditional optimal diversity system in a Gaussian environment. The dynamics of the quality estimator allow operation in the presence of high-power impulsive interference by exploiting the signal and noise differential travel times to individual sensors. The spatial coherence structure of the shallow water acoustic channel shows relatively low signal coherence at separations as short as 0.35 m. Increasing receiver spacing beyond 5 m offers additional benefits in the presence of impulsive noise and larger-scale inhomogeneities in the acoustic field. A number of data transmission experiments were carried out to demonstrate system performance in realistic underwater environments     

Acoustic model-based matched filter processing for fadingtime-dispersive ocean channels: theory and experiment

It is shown that the performance of a conventional matched filter can be improved if the reference (replica) channel compensates for the distortion by the ocean medium. A model-based matched filter is generated by correlating the received signal with a reference channel that consists of the transmitted signal convolved with the impulse response of the medium. The channel impulse responses are predicted with a broadband propagation model using in situ sound speed measured data and archival bottom loss data. The relative performance of conventional and model-based matched filter processing is compared for large time-bandwidth-product linear-frequency-modulated signals propagating in a dispersive waveguide. From ducted propagation measurements conducted in an area west of Sardinia, the model-based matched filter localizes the depths of both the source and receiving array and the range between them. The peak signal-to-noise ratio for the model-based matched filter is always larger than that of the conventional filter     

Performance of sequential decoding of convolutional codes overfully fading ocean acoustic channels

Sequential decoding of long-constraint convolutional codes is shown to be a feasible technique for digital data telemetry over realistic marine acoustic channels. A computational bound for sequential decoding over a fading dispersive channel is derived for hardlimiting and quantizing decoders. The results indicate that a minimum of 8 dB of bit SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) is required for sequential decoder operation. Simulations indicate that 14-dB bit SNR results in simple and feasible implementations. Diversity methods for coded transmissions over Rayleigh fading channels are examined. The optimal diversity level for minimum error probability of uncoded systems and the diversity level of minimizing the sequential decoder computational load are derived and shown to be different, with the latter requiring a higher order of diversity. Performance differences between fixed-diversity and optimal-diversity systems are presented     

Pressure equalization tube for seafloor corers

A design is presented for a pressure equalization conduit to eliminate suction at the lower end of seafloor coring devices during extraction from the bottom. Tests performed in 1967 indicated that the conduit can minimize core disturbance that is otherwise induced by the suction created during removal of the corer from the seabed.     

Beta diversity of pelagic assemblages at fish aggregating devices in the open ocean

Owing to difficulties in accessing the vast open ocean, the beta (β) diversity of pelagic fish assemblages remains poorly studied. We investigated the relationship between assemblage similarity and geographical distance between anchored fish aggregating devices (FADs), sampled by standardised underwater visual censuses in three anchored FAD arrays in the Indian Ocean—at the Maldives, the Seychelles and Mauritius. The use of two complementary indices of β-diversity, based on presence/absence data (Jaccard similarity coefficient) and abundance data (Bray–Curtis index), revealed that geographical distance between sampling sites (from 4 to 257 km) appeared to have no effect on the similarity of fish assemblages associated with FADs within each array. The results of this preliminary study question the generalisation of the paradigm of an increase in β-diversity with geographic distance to the open-ocean fish community. Large-scale studies using a variety of datasets should be conducted to further investigate patterns of β-diversity in the open ocean.     

基于合成孔径雷达交叉极化通道数据的海上目标探测

Azimuth ambiguities(ghost targets) discrimination is of great interest with the development of a synthetic aperture radar(SAR). And the azimuth ambiguities are often mistaken as actual targets and cause false alarms. For actual targets, HV channel signals acquired by a fully polarimetric SAR are approximately equal to a VH channel in magnitude and phase, i.e., the reciprocity theorem applies, but shifted in phase about ± for the first-order azimuth ambiguities. Exploiting this physical behavior, the real part of the product of the two cross-polarized channels, i.e.(S S)HV VH, hereafter called A12 r, is employed as a new parameter for a target detection at sea. Compared with other parameters, the contrast of A12 r image between a target and the surrounding sea surface will be obviously increased when A12 r image is processed by mean filtering algorithm. Here, in order to detect target with constant false-alarm rates(CFARs), an analytical expression for the probability density function(pdf) of A12 r is derived based on the complex Wishart-distribution. Because a value of A12 r is greater/less than 0 for real target/its azimuth ambiguities, the first-order azimuth ambiguities can be completely removed by this A12r-based CFAR technology. Experiments accomplished over C-band RADARSAT-2 fully polarimetric imageries confirm the validity.     

Spatial and seasonal variability of global ocean diapycnal transport inferred from Argo profiles

The global diapycnal transport in the ocean interior is one of the significant branches to return the deep water back toward near-surface. However, the amount of the diapycnal transport and the seasonal variations are not determined yet. This paper estimates the dissipation rate and the associated diapycnal transports at 500 m, 750 m and 1 000 m depth throughout the global ocean from the wide-spread Argo profiles, using the finescale parameterizations and classic advection-diff usion balance. The net upwelling is ~5.2±0.81 Sv (Sverdrup) which is approximately one fifth in magnitude of the formation of the deep water. The Southern Ocean is the major region with the upward diapycnal transport, while the downwelling emerges mainly in the northern North Atlantic. The upwelling in the Southern Ocean accounts for over 50% of the amount of the global summation. The seasonal cycle is obvious at 500 m and vanishes with depth, indicating the energy source at surface. The enhancement of diapycnal transport occurs at 1000min the Southern Ocean, which is pertinent with the internal wave generation due to the interaction between the robust deep-reaching flows and the rough topography. Our estimates of the diapycnal transport in the ocean interior have implications for the closure of the oceanic energy budget and the understanding of global Meridional Overturning Circulation.     

National ocean policy—new opportunities for Malaysian ocean development

Being a littoral state, Malaysian maritime sectors provide the basis for the growth and development of marine-related activities. As the country enters the new millennium along with the ‘2020 Vision’ which serves as the basic template against which the economic performance of these sectors should be judged, it poses a new challenge for Malaysia in developing these sectors. This paper attempts to address three basic issues: Firstly, is there any national ocean policy in place? Secondly, are the maritime sectors adequately organized to play an important role in achieving the objectives? Thirdly, what are the opportunities available in developing the ocean?It can be seen that existing policies to develop comprehensive ocean governance have not received the full attention they deserve. Organizational structures governing the ocean for implementing national policies are well in place but in a fragmented and uncoordinated fashion. As a result, sectoral and intersectoral management problems were created such as multiple-use conflicts, overlapping of jurisdiction and duplication of efforts. Environmental problems have also not been properly addressed. A few sectors have been identified as offering opportunities to further develop the Malaysian maritime areas. Among these are marine education and human resources development, marine tourism and the seafood industry.     

Spatial information recognizing of ocean eddies based on virtual force field and its application

A new approach to detecting ocean eddies automatically from remote sensing imageries based on the ocean eddy's eigen-pattern in remote sensing imagery and "force field-based shape extracting method" is proposed. First, the analysis on extracting eddies' edges from remote sensing imagery using conventional edge detection arithmetic operators is performed and returns digitized vector edge data as a result. Second, attraction forces and fusion forces between edge curves were analyzed and calculated based on the vector eddy edges. Thirdly, the virtual significant spatial patterns of eddy were detected automatically using iterative repetition followed by optimized rule. Finally, the spatial form auto-detection of different types of ocean eddies was done using satellite images. The study verified that this is an effective way to identify and detect the ocean eddy with a complex form.     

Managing for a resilient ocean

Ocean policies around the world increasingly emphasize the importance of maintaining resilient ocean ecosystems, communities, and economies. To maintain and restore the resilience of healthy marine ecosystems in practice, specific management objectives with metrics and a policy framework for how to apply them will be needed. Here we present a concept for doing this, based on evidence that marine ecosystems transition from desirable to less desirable states in response to a number of physical, chemical, and biological drivers. More empirical and synthesis research will be necessary to develop quantitative metrics of resilience and thresholds between ecosystem states for specific ecosystems; however, suggestions are provided here for how to manage for resilience when insufficient data and knowledge are available for quantification. A summary of thresholds for biotic and abiotic drivers of ecosystem state drawn from the literature is also provided as a guide to management.     

Instrumentation needs for ocean biology

Research and development in ocean engineering, particularly in the areas of deep ocean drilling and platform construction, have progressed remarkably in the past few decades. By and large, instrumentation for biological ocean research, in comparison, remains simplistic. A brief review of marine biological sampling devices is provided, indicating the relative inadequacies of marine bio-instrumentation. Equipment for plankton, benthos, and nekton sampling has been improved in recent years compared to that available for nannoplankton. Nevertheless, there are limitations even in the best of these devices, and improvements in sampling gear would benefit ocean biology significantly. Precise sample collection of surface slicks, water column, and ocean sediment is mandatory for biological assessment of environmental impact. The necessary sampling gear is either not available or under development and, in cases where the instrumentation is available, it is, in general, either limited in application or not entirely reliable. As an example, increasingly, the ocean serves as the receptor of discharge from sewage outfalls, deep water disposal, and ocean dumping. Thus assessment of biological impact is required, particularly in light of the increasing frequency of reports of survival of bacteria and viruses pathogenic for man in those regions of the world oceans significantly affected by these activities. Improved instrumentation for aseptic sample collection and retrieval of water, sediment, and biota for quantitative, as well as qualitative, microbiological analyses are needed. Developments in baromicrobiology have been rapid, but improved instrumentation is needed. Even though aseptic collection of deep ocean water samples is possible, sediment sample collection for microbiology is still accomplished by coring or grab devices, with no instrument yet available for quantitative undisturbed sample collection without contamination from water column microorganisms.     

Acoustic telemetry for ocean acoustic tomography

Very low data rate burst telemetry for long-range deep-ocean applications is discussed. Energy efficiency, propagation coherence, and waveform coding, together with transmitter constraints, influenced the design of proposed buoy-to-buoy and buoy-to-shore systems.     

Signal processing for precise ocean mapping

In this work a bottom return signal model and accompanying signal processor are described for a wide swath bottom mapping system. An incoherent scattering model is employed under the assumptions that the bottom is a random rough surface composed of a large number of independent scatters with spatial correlation distance negligible relative to the ensonified area. The envelope of the signal received from the various spatial directions is modeled as a smooth, nearly Gaussian-shaped function representing the effects of the twoway spatial beam pattern, angle of incidence, and depth corrupted by multiplicative and additive noise stochastic processes. A signal processor is derived which makes use of the a priori information vested in this smooth function to provide a matched filter for the received signal envelope for each spatial direction. Computer simulation results are presented and the performance of the signal processor examined in a qualitative fashion.     

Motion compensation system for ocean profiling

The vertical profiles of ocean temperature and salinity measured with instruments lowered by cable from surface ships can be seriously affected by the nonuniform drop rate caused by ship motion. This paper describes a motion compensation system developed for conductivity, temperature, and depth profilers that significantly reduces the effect of ship motion on profiler drop rates, thereby enhancing the measurement capabilities of vertical profilers.     

Spatial and temporal variation in subtidal molluscan diversity amongst temperate estuarine habitats

Effective management of marine ecosystems is enhanced when detailed information on biodiversity is available. Key information to underpin management actions and conservation planning includes relationships between species assemblages and environmental gradients, and information on species distributions. We conducted a subtidal biodiversity assessment of surface‐dwelling subtidal molluscs in eight a priori defined habitat types using underwater visual censuses to quantitatively explore relationships between molluscan assemblages, and their correlation with benthic habitats and abiotic variables. In addition, variations in diversity were examined for two key habitat types (areas dominated by Dendronephthya australis and by filter feeders) over a period of 15 months to examine temporal change. We found that molluscs form distinct assemblages within subtidal habitats, but that assemblages within key habitats show inherent temporal variability. Regional (gamma) diversity of molluscs was found to result from a combination of: (i) within habitat alpha diversity, which increased with habitat complexity; (ii) between habitat beta diversity, with significant differences in molluscan assemblages amongst habitats with differing benthic growth, substrate type, and depth; and (iii) temporal beta diversity, with significant changes detected in molluscan assemblages over time. The results demonstrate how habitats and abiotic variables (principally depth and substrate type) combine to contribute to molluscan biodiversity in temperate estuaries, and illustrate the value of these factors as surrogates for surface‐dwelling subtidal molluscs in conservation planning.     

Quasi-isopycnic layer model for large-scale ocean circulation

A hydrothermodynamic model of a multilayer ocean, incorporating the upper mixed layer (UML) is described. The model is based on a system of primitive equations integrated within each layer. All layers are assumed to be horizontally-inhomogeneous, however, the density in each thermocline layer changes within the limits determineda priori by the prescribed basic stratification. It is assumed that the layers may outcrop. Results of the numerical experiment on subduction simulation (downwelling of UML waters toward the main thermocline layers) are given.Translated by V. Puchkin.     

An ocean model for climate variability studies

Models of the time dependent ocean circulation can be simplified considerably by filtering out all short term, small scale motions which are unimportant for climatic processes. For time scales large compared with a day and space scales large compared with the internal Rossby radius of deformation (～50 km), the currents in most of the interior ocean can be determined diagnostically as quasi-equilibrium fields, so that only the salinity and temperature fields need be treated prognostically.Regions of closed f/h contours, however, represent exceptions. Here trapped vorticity gyres exist as free flow solutions without external forcing, and in the presence of forcing the barotropic velocity field must therefore be determined prognostically through a potential vorticity equation for the gyres.Lateral boundary layers and the equatorial regions also require separate treatment. These were not considered specifically, but it is suggested that integrated (parametrical) models analogous in structure to mixed-layer models or the integrated boundary layer models of aerodynamics may be the most appropriate technique for coupling these regions to the interior ocean in a comprehensive ocean model suitable for climate studies.A coupled multi-region model of the global ocean circulation based on these scale considerations could be sufficiently cost-effective to permit systematic investigation of the role of the oceanic heat storage and transport in climate variability studies over a wide spectrum of space and time scales.The analysis of the seasonal variations of the interior ocean circulation represents a simple example in which the filtered model yields considerably simpler and more readily interpretable results than a fully three-dimensional, unfiltered model.