Prototype acoustic positioning system for the Pacific Ocean Neutrino Experiment

Journal Article · Thu Jul 03 00:00:00 EDT 2025 · Journal of Instrumentation

DOI:https://doi.org/10.1088/1748-0221/20/07/P07003· OSTI ID:3001444

Agostini, M.; Agreda, S.; Alexander Wight, A.; Barbeau, P.S.; Baron, A.J.; Bash, S.; Bellenghi, C.; Biffard, B.; Boehmer, M.; Brandenburg, M.; Bunton, P.; Cedarblade-Jones, N.; Charlton, M.; Crudele, B.; Danninger, M.; DeYoung, T.; Fuchs, F.; Gärtner, A.; Garriz, J.; Ghuman, D. ; Ginzkey, L.; Glukler, T.; Gousy-Leblanc, V.; Grant, D.; Grimes, A.; Haack, C.; Halliday, R.; Heesemann, M.; Hembroff, D.; Henningsen, F.; Hutchinson, J.; Karanth, S.; Kerscher, T.; Kopański, K.; Kopper, C.; Krause, P.; Krauss, C.B.; Kurahashi, N.; Lagunas Gualda, C.; Leismüller, K.; Li, R.; Loipolder, S.; Magaña Ponce, A.; Magel, S.; Malecki, P.; Marshall, G.; Martin, T.; Miller, C.; Molberg, N.; Moore, R.; Muzi, L.; Nührenbörger, B.; Nichol, B.; Noga, W.; Ørsøe, R.; Papp, L.; Parrish, V.; Pfahler, P.; Pirenne, B.; Price, E.; Rahlin, A.; Rangen, M.; Resconi, E.; Robertson, S.; Salazar-Gallegos, D.; Scholz, A.; Schumacher, L.; Sharma, S.; Spannfellner, C.; Stacho, J.; Taboada, I.; Twagireyezu, J.P.; Un Nisa, M.; Veenstra, B.; Weaver, C.; Whitehorn, N.; Winter, L.; Wroński, R.; Yañez, J.P.; Zaalishvili, A.

We present the design and initial performance characterization of the prototype acoustic positioning system intended for the Pacific Ocean Neutrino Experiment. It comprises novel piezo-acoustic receivers with dedicated filtering- and amplification electronics installed in P-ONE instruments and is complemented by a commercial system comprised of cabled and autonomous acoustic pingers for sub-sea installation manufactured by Sonardyne Ltd. We performed an in-depth characterization of the acoustic receiver electronics and their acoustic sensitivity when integrated into P-ONE pressure housings. These show absolute sensitivities of up to -125 dB re V2/μPa2 in a frequency range of 10–40 kHz. We furthermore conducted a positioning measurement campaign in the ocean by deploying three autonomous acoustic pingers on the seafloor, as well as a cabled acoustic interrogator and a P-ONE prototype module deployed from a ship. Using a simple peak-finding detection algorithm, we observe high accuracy in the tracking of relative ranging times at approximately 230–280 μs at distances of up to 1600 m, which is sufficient for positioning detectors in a cubic-kilometer detector and which can be further improved with more involved detection algorithms. The tracking accuracy is further confirmed by independent ranging of the Sonardyne system and closely follows the ship's drift in the wind measured by GPS. The absolute positioning shows the same tracking accuracy with its absolute precision only limited by the large uncertainties of the deployed pinger positions on the seafloor.

• Research Organization: Duke University, Durham, NC (United States)
• Sponsoring Organization: USDOE Office of Science (SC), Nuclear Physics (NP)
• Contributing Organization: The P-ONE collaboration
• Grant/Contract Number: FG02-97ER41033
• OSTI ID: 3001444
• Journal Information: Journal of Instrumentation, Journal Name: Journal of Instrumentation Journal Issue: 07 Vol. 20; ISSN 1748-0221
• Publisher: IOP Publishing
• Country of Publication: United States
• Language: English

Related Subjects

Data analysis
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Large detector systems for particle and astroparticle physics
Neutrino detectors