Acoustic Arrays

ACOUSTIC ARRAYS

Kintama takes existing VEMCO acoustic receiver technology and applies it on a large-scale to build acoustic arrays that run across a body of water; be it a river, a strait, or across the continental shelf.  Receivers are spaced in these lines so their ranges overlap, creating acoustic “curtains” that are able to detect virtually all of the tagged animals that pass through them.  A series of acoustic arrays therefore provides an accurate means to track the movement and estimate the survival of migratory marine animals.

The main advantage of acoustic telemetry to other tagging technologies is that it works well in both saltwater and freshwater, providing seamless tracking of animals that spend parts of their lives in rivers and the ocean, as well as those that live solely in the sea.  Acoustic tags have a much broader range than the few meters achievable with the more widely used radio tags — up to 1km depending on the ocean or river conditions

Kintama’s highly engineered lines have been used as a backbone to the Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking (POST) acoustic telemetry network that spans much of the west coast of North America.  POST has been used by independent researchers to track thousands of individual animals, and more than 16 different species.  The concept of POST, developed by Kintama’s founder, David Welch, has lead to the development of similar arrays around the world, most notably the Ocean Tracking Network.

Read more about advantages and public policy

Read more about array design

Read more about deploying acoustic arrays .

Read more about tagging animals