Acoustic source characteristics of merchant ships

Abstract

Merchant ships are sources of broadband acoustic noise which can interfere with and confuse ocean surveillance. The purpose of this discussion is to review: the status of research on and measurements of merchant ship acoustic characteristics and known and conjectured properties of merchant ship acoustic signatures. Sources of continuous and discrete, or tonal, radiation are discussed, including ship propellers and internal machinery. Mechanisms which can cause tonal bandwidth are identified. These concepts are illustrated through a discussion of some results obtained from a detailed measurement of a bulk carrier.