Evaluation of Water and Air Gun Seismic Sources at Seneca Lake

Abstract

Three pneumatically controlled, seismic acoustic sources were evaluated at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center's Seneca Lake Test Facility during November 1992. The three acoustic sources, (a) a 1-cubic inch water gun, (b) a 10-cubic inch air gun, and (c) a 20-cubic inch air gun, were manufactured, furnished and operated by Bolt Technology Corporation of Norwalk, Connecticut These tests were conducted to examine the characteristics of the acoustic signals generated by each unit (e.g., source level, spectral content, waveform structure) and to characterize the emitted acoustic signals as a function of water depth and frequency. The purpose for conducting these evaluations was to determine if pneumatically controlled acoustic sources are suitable for making low frequency, shallow water volume scattering measurements in lieu of using SUS explosive charges. Analysis of these results indicate that neither the water gun nor the air guns tested can attain the spectral levels required for a shallow water volume scattering measurement. However, the data acquired may be used to scale these sources to yield the appropriate output levels.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
May 14, 1993
Accession Number
ADA640307

Entities

People

  • Mark J. Vaccaro
  • Richard M. Noble

Organizations

  • Naval Undersea Warfare Center

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acoustic Signals
  • Air Guns
  • Corporations
  • Explosive Charges
  • Explosives
  • Far Field
  • Frequency
  • Measurement
  • Naval Warfare
  • Near Field
  • Pressure Signatures
  • Resonant Frequency
  • Scattering
  • Shallow Water
  • Test Facilities
  • Undersea Warfare
  • Warfare

Readers

  • Acoustical Oceanography.
  • Electronics Engineering
  • Materials Science