Long-Baseline Deep Ocean Acoustic Tracking and Telemetry System

A portable, long-baseline acoustic tracking system incorporating an acoustic data telemetry link has been developed for deep ocean applications. The system is capable of tracking a surface ship and a submerged object with respect to a bottom-mounted transponder array to an accuracy of better than 10 m. Position updates of the ship and object along with data from the object are obtained every 15 to 20 s. The acoustic communication range of the system is 10 km, which permits tracking of the surface ship in an area of approximately 150 square kilometers in water with a depth of 6 km. This paper describes the general characteristics of the system, including the components, tracking and surveying methods, tracking accuracy, and the results of field tests.