Shape calibration for a nominally linear equispaced array

The author considers a thin flexible line array of equispaced hydrophones that is towed through the sea, and develops a procedure that allows testing of the straightness of the array. The motion of the towing ship, the currents of the ocean and other forces induce deformations on the array and affect the performance of spatial processing of the data developed under the assumption that the array is straight. When the ship is maneuvering, the processing is generally turned off for long periods of time, an extremely penalizing situation that can be overcome by applying the procedure described to determine the maximum size of admissible sub-arrays on which the standard processing can be pursued.<>