An improved acoustic station for deep-sea long-term measurements

In the framework of the “Marine Hazard” project, a high-performance submarine acoustic station is being designed and developed. The platform is conceived to provide real-time monitoring and characterization of acoustic noises caused by anthropic and natural sources in the coastal and abyssal environment, in order to analyze the impact produced by human activities on the marine environment. The acoustic station will be deployed in the Mediterranean Sea at a depth of 3500 m, 80 km offshore Portopalo di Capo Passero (SE Sicily), and connected to the KM3NeT/IDMAR infrastructure, exploiting the collaboration between the Istituto Nazionale di Fisica Nucleare (INFN) and the Istituto Nazionale di Geofisica e Vulcanologia (INGV) research infrastructures. The acoustic station will monitor deep noises at high sensitivity with a broadband hydrophone capable to detect sounds ranging from 1 Hz to 12 kHz. The station will be also equipped with a Conductivity-Temperature-Depth (CTD) sensor and an Ocean Bottom Seismometer (OBS), to monitor the properties of seawater around the station and to extend the capabilities to detect noises generated by geological events (underwater landslides, earthquakes, and volcanic activities) correlating them to pure seismic signals.