Overview of distributed acoustic sensing: Theory and ocean applications

Extensive monitoring of acoustic activities is important for many fields, including biology, security, oceanography, and Earth science. Distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) is an evolving technique for continuous, wide-coverage measurements of mechanical vibrations, which is suited to ocean applications. DAS illuminates an optical fiber with laser pulses and measures the backscattered wave due to small random variations in the refractive index of the material. External stimuli, such as mechanical strain due to acoustic wavefields impinging on the fiber-optic cable, modulate the backscattered wave. Continuous measurement of the backscattered signal provides a distributed sensing modality of the impinging wavefield. Considering the potential use of existing telecommunication fiber-optic cables deployed across the oceans, DAS has emerged as a promising technology for monitoring the underwater soundscape. This review presents advances in DAS in the last decade and details the underlying physics from electromagnetic to mechanical and eventually acoustic quantities. To guide the use of DAS for ocean applications, the effect of DAS acquisition parameters in signal processing is explained. Finally, DAS is demonstrated on data from the OOI Regional Cabled Array for the detection of sound sources, such as whales, ships, and earthquakes.