Imaging marine geophysical environments with vector acoustics

Using vector acoustic sensors for marine geoacoustic surveys instead of the usual scalar hydrophones enables one to acquire three-dimensional (3D) survey data with instrumentation and logistics similar to current 2D surveys. Vector acoustic sensors measure the sound wave direction directly without the cumbersome arrays that hydrophones require. This concept was tested by a scaled experiment in an acoustic water tank that had a well-controlled environment with a few targets. Using vector acoustic data from a single line of sources, the three-dimensional tank environment was imaged by directly locating the source and all reflectors.