An Autonomous Hydroacoustic System for studying long-term scattering variability

A new instrument, an Autonomous Hydroacoustic System, was designed to probe a water column acoustically from the bottom to the sea surface. It is capable of operating from a depth of 100 m self sufficiently for up to 10 days. A brief description of its construction and electronic design is provided. Preliminary results from the first field study consisting of a 90-hour series of backscattering measurements are presented.