A 32 KW Doppler Sonar

Doppler acoustic scattering is proving to be a valuable technique for measuring motion in the upper part of the sea. The Doppler shift of the backscattered echo provides an estimate of water velocity as a function of range and time. The Marine Physical Laboratory has constructed a narrow beam, high frequency sonar system to study internal waves. The transmitter is an array of 1,680 transducers assembled in a flat, hexagonal shape approximately 1.5 m nominal diameter. The array is driven in phases at constant amplitude, between 65-90 kHz at 32 KW electrical power. The system currently is operated from the Research Platform FLIP.