Research Summaries

Back Deep Seaweb Surveillance

Fiscal Year 2010
Division Graduate School of Engineering & Applied Science
Department Physics
Investigator(s) Rice, Joseph A.
Sponsor Navy Irregular Warfare Office (Navy)
Summary Seaweb is an underwater acoustic network with in situ sensor nodes, repeater nodes, and gateway nodes. Seaweb persistently and autonomously detects and monitors maritime vessels and provides real-time reporting to an operational center. The objective of this project is to conduct studies, designs, and measurements that will be used to develop a program plan leading to the operational deployment of Seaweb acoustic networks in the SOUTHCOM area of focus with minimal risk and cost. SOUTHCOM desires to utilize these networks operationally to monitor potential illicit trafficking in their area of responsibility. This capability addresses the proliferation of maritime threats such as go-fast and SPSS vessels. It fills a gap in our ability to effectively sense these targets in the maritime environment. Seaweb sensor networks are rapidly deployable, scalable architectures providing wide-area surveillance. Sensor placement on the seabed is known to be optimal, and distributed placement of such sensors can yield a tripwire or barrier or chokepoint coverage as the initial step in countering the activities of threat vessels. Current Seaweb implementations have been developed and extensively tested and utilized at shallow depths. Analysis has shown sensors in deeper water will be more cost effective due to increased detection ranges, better propagation, and lower ambient noise conditions. In this project we will develop designs for Deep Seaweb in order to better estimate the costs of an operational network.
Keywords
Publications Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal
Data Publications, theses (not shown) and data repositories will be added to the portal record when information is available in FAIRS and brought back to the portal