Ponente
Descripción
The KM3NeT infrastructure comprises a network of underwater neutrino telescopes in the Mediterranean Sea. Secondary particles, produced when neutrinos interact, emit Cherenkov photons which are measured by the KM3NeT detectors.
In order to precisely reconstruct muon tracks and showers, it is necessary to know the position of the photomultipliers with an accuracy of about 10 cm.
For this purpose, an acoustic system consisting of hydrophones and piezoelectric sensors is set up and three acoustic emitters are placed around the detector.
Using underwater acoustic sensors as a passive acoustic monitoring system opens the possibility to study several aspects related to underwater noise present in the marine environment. Of special relevance are the bio-acoustic signals produced by marine mammals present in the Mediterranean Sea. The Gulf of Lion area has particular importance due to the presence of many cetacean’s species such as sperm whales and various types of dolphins. Depending on the detected bio acoustic signals (echolocation clicks or whistles) it is possible to infer, from absence/presence of marine mammals, the circadian and seasonal patterns of activity. Moreover, considering the click intervals, the identification of different cetacean species is possible.
The purpose of this talk is to illustrate the potential of the KM3NeT acoustic system to perform long term monitoring regarding bio-acoustic signal detection.
Simulations and applications to real data of marine mammal click detection and consequent reconstruction of the position of the acoustic sources have been performed, together with studies on dolphin whistle activity and the statistics related with the frequency band estimation, revealing that KM3NeT infrastructure is a relevant system for underwater passive acoustic monitoring.
| Affiliation | KM3NeT Collaboration (INFN - Genova group and Instituto Español de Oceanografía (IEO)) |
|---|
