Towards acoustic UHE neutrino detection in the Mediterranean sea

Acoustic detection is proposed as a promising detection technique for Extreme High energy neutrinos. This technique is based on the detection of the acoustic signature of neutrino-induced showers in water: a bipolar signal, having a bandwidth of few 10 kHz, with cylindrical wave front. During the last decade, the possibility of access to deep-sea infrastructures developed for Cherenkov telescopes, allowed start-up of intense R&D activities on acoustic detection. In the framework of the activities of ANTARES, NEMO and KM3NeT, several small size experiments were run in order to measure acoustic noise in deep sea and test “neutrino-like” acoustic event detection. These activities have set milestones both for future HE neutrino detectors, for innovative deep-sea technology and for Earth-Sea science. A review on acoustic neutrino detection and projects running in the Mediterranean Sea is presented.