Dr. Kenneth G Foote of Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

How do you know that you can believe your acoustic measurements?  This is an instance of a more general question underlying the science of measurement, i.e., metrology. The general subject is addressed through some prominent examples of the consequences of abridging measurement principles in applications.  The opening question is then answered by reference to the standard-target sonar-calibration method, with some elaboration and illustrations.  Given a calibrated active sonar, absolute acoustic abundance estimation of pelagic fish, or other organisms with a pelagic phase, becomes tenable.  Principles of this are outlined, and a numerical example for Atlantic herring (Clupea harengus) is worked.

Biography:

Dr. Kenneth G. Foote received a B.S. in Electrical Engineering from The George Washington University in 1968, and a Ph.D. in Physics from Brown University in 1973. He was an engineer at Raytheon Company, 1968-1974; postdoctoral scholar at Loughborough University of Technology, 1974-1975; research fellow and substitute lecturer at the University of Bergen, 1975-1981. He began working at the Institute of Marine Research, Bergen, in 1979; joined the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution in 1999. His general area of expertise is in underwater sound scattering, with applications to the quantification of fish, other aquatic organisms, and physical scatterers in the water column and on the seafloor. In developing and transitioning acoustic methods and instruments to operations at sea, he has worked from 77°N to 55°S.