ASA 130th Meeting - St. Louis, MO - 1995 Nov 27 .. Dec 01

2aAO1. Acoustic visualization of zooplankton and micronekton patchiness in oceanic ecosystems.

Charles H. Greene

Ocean Resources and Ecosystems Prog., Cornell Univ., Ithaca, NY 14853

Peter H. Wiebe

Woods Hole Oceanogr. Inst., Woods Hole, MA 02543

Acoustic visualization combines the techniques of acoustic remote sensing and scientific data visualization. It provides scientists with the means for interactively exploring three-dimensional data sets collected acoustically. In this presentation, field investigations will be presented in which acoustic visualization has provided unique insights into the three-dimensional patchiness of zooplankton and micronekton distributions. The steps involved with survey design as well as data analysis and interpretation will be discussed along with a video presentation. Details will be given of attempts to derive quantitative, objective inferences from irregualrly spaced and temporally inconsistent data collected during acoustic surveys of patchily distributed animals in an advective flow field. [Work supported by ONR, NSF, and NOAA.]