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As a subcategory of acoustic metamaterials, membrane acoustic metamaterials (MAMs) are lighter and more adjustable than other types of acoustic metamaterials when it comes to low-frequency sound absorption. Currently, their primary application is in air mediums. However, there is a small body of research exploring MAMs' underwater potential, as they are expected to offer a solution for controlling low-frequency sound in underwater environments. This review provides an overview of the basic and derived structures of MAMs, and analyses how to adjust the eigenfrequency of both passive and active MAMs to support researchers who are the field of MAMs. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In this work we use ground tire rubber (GTR) powder obtained by grinding worn tire treads as reinforcer agent in flexible polyurethane (PU). Characterization of the microstructure of the as‐received powder is achieved using a series of standard techniques including scanning electron microscopy (SEM), granulometry‐laser, Fourier transform infrared spectroscopy (FTIR), and x‐ray diffraction (XRD). To have complementary physical information the composition and thermal characteristics of the GTR powder, thermogravimetry analysis (TGA) is also performed. The set of these preliminary characterizations shows that the GTR powder particles can be used as reinforcing fillers. For the purpose of good compatibility with the PU matrix, the GTR powder is subjected to chemical treatments for reducing the impurities on the powder particles and to create functional groups at their surface. Subsequently, a series of GTR/PU composite samples are prepared with different weight fractions of GTR using free rising foam method. The GTR/PU composites are then characterized to assess the effect of the GTR content and their chemically pre‐treatment on thermal stability, compression mechanical behavior as well as sound attenuation properties. Collectively, these results indicate a significant improvement of both thermal and mechanical properties of the GTR/PU composites compared to the pristine PU matrix. Furthermore, it is also emphasized that the sound absorption response shows a significant shift of the maximum of the absorption coefficient toward lower frequencies resulting from simultaneous increase in air‐flow resistivity and tortuosity which can have great potential application in the field of underwater acoustics. The effects of chemical treatments and GTR amount are also discussed. It is also shown that the results show improvement when H2O2 solvent is used in comparison with NaOH, and the optimal properties are reached for PU samples containing 20 wt% of GTR whatever the pre‐treatment is. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The utilization of ultrasound imaging has become extensively prevalent and well‐established in clinical practice. The fundamental technologies that serve as the foundation for various applications in the field include transducers, beam shaping, pulse compression, tissue harmonic imaging, contrast agents, methodologies for quantifying blood flow and tissue motion, and three‐dimensional imaging. This article focuses on the examination of ultrasonic propagation, which involves the transmission of mechanical vibrations within the molecules or particles of a material. It quantifies the velocity of sound propagation in the medium of air. The third‐order nonlinear M‐fractional Westervelt model has been used as a governing model in the imaging process for securing the different wave structures. The recently developed computational methods have been applied in this study. The different wave structures are secured in various forms of solitary wave solutions including bright, dark, and combo solitons. In the domains of medical imaging and therapy, the investigation of sound wave propagation and high‐amplitude phenomena is facilitated by the utilization of wave structures. The effectiveness of these solutions extends to acoustic cavitation, acoustic levitation, underwater acoustics, and facilitating the process of ultrasonic propagation in tissue. Ultrasound imaging technologies currently find application in the medical field, enabling the visualization and examination of internal human tissue. This technology exhibits a wide array of applications in the fields of industry and medicine. A representation of the graphs is produced using the appropriate parametric values. The results suggest that the chosen approaches exhibit effectiveness, viability, and adaptability when implemented in complex systems in various fields, with particular emphasis on ultrasonic imaging. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sound target strength (TS) is one of the important indicators for measuring the acoustic stealth performance of underwater weapon platforms such as submarines and large unmanned underwater vehicles. The application of sound-absorbing structures is one of the key technologies for controlling the TS of underwater structures. The research on sound-absorbing metamaterials has emerged owing to the rapid development of acoustic metamaterials. Most sound absorption structures are implemented using local resonance models, which include thin-film metamaterials, curled space metamaterials, Helmholtz resonant cavities, local resonance scatterers, and so on. When these complex microstructures are applied to the surfaces of large underwater equipment, the finite element model for calculating TS has countless small mesh sizes due to the consideration of the fine features of the complex structures, resulting in a large number of meshes that are difficult to calculate or optimize. To solve this problem, the neural network deep learning model is utilized to extract the elastic equivalent parameters of complex sound-absorbing structures within a single period range based on the transfer matrix method of the elastic layer for the first time. This paper validates the typical homogeneous structures, composite sandwich structures, and composite structures with cavities. The errors in the TS values calculated from the original structures and the equivalent parameters are all within 2dB, taking the application of structures on a cylinder with a 0.5-m radius as an example. It demonstrates that these equivalent parameters can be used to accurately and quickly calculate the TS of complex sound-absorbing structures. The calculation method based on equivalent parameters proposed in this paper provides convenience and efficiency for the optimization design of structures pursuing lower sound target strength. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underwater electric wire explosion (UEWE) has great potential as a shockwave source for medical and industrial applications. This paper focuses on the process of the sub-millisecond underwater electrical wire explosion (smUEWE). The study compared the smUEWE and the microsecond underwater electrical wire explosion, which revealed the occurrence of partial vaporization under smUEWE, leading to the formation of bamboo-shaped cavities and frontal shock waves. The experiments of smUEWE were carried out under different stored energy, the results indicated the plasma shrinkage and cavity separation during the overall ionization process. Additionally, the study observed secondary breakdown caused by the uneven distribution of ionization products. An analysis was conducted on smUEWE considering partial vaporization, which divided the electrical explosion into a positive feedback process which promoted the axial instability and a negative feedback process which formed the uniform plasma channel. The analysis results was consistent with the experimental results. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Target identification of ship-radiated noise is a crucial area in underwater target recognition. However, there is currently a lack of multi-target ship datasets that accurately represent real-world underwater acoustic conditions. To tackle this issue, we conducted experimental data acquisition, resulting in the release of QiandaoEar22—a comprehensive underwater acoustic multi-target dataset. This dataset encompasses 9 h and 28 min of real-world ship-radiated noise data and 21 h and 58 min of background noise data. To demonstrate the availability of QiandaoEar22, we executed two experimental tasks. The first task focuses on assessing the presence of ship-radiated noise, while the second task involves identifying specific ships within the recognized targets in the multi-ship mixed data. In the latter task, we extracted eight features from the data and employed six deep learning networks for classification, aiming to evaluate and compare the performance of various features and networks. The experimental results reveal that ship-radiated noise can be identified from background noise in over 99% of cases. For the specific identification of individual ships, the optimal recognition accuracy achieves 99.56%. Finally, we found using spectrum and MFCC as feature inputs and DenseNet as classifier can achieve excellent recognition performance. Considering the computational efficiency, CRNN and ECAPA-TDNN are also good choices. Our work not only establishes a benchmark for algorithm evaluation but also inspires the development of innovative methods to enhance underwater acoustic target detection (UATD) and underwater acoustic target recognition (UATR). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A submerged elevation located off the coast of Le Castella, a small village on the Ionian Coast of Calabria (Italy) populated for thousands of years that features notable archaeological remains from the Great Greece (Magna Graecia) and the Middle Ages, was investigated through in-depth, multidisciplinary, geoarchaeological research. This submarine elevation, once aligned with the marine terrace MIS 3 of Le Castella and still completely emerged between 10 and 8 ka years ago, slowly sank due to erosion and local tectonic-structural subsidence and was also favoured by a submerged normal fault that cuts the terrace in two. The dismantling and sinking of this part of the marine terrace has significantly changed the Late Holocene shorelines, with notable consequences on a topographic and archaeological level. In fact, one of the consequences of the sinking of this ancient promontory was the disappearance of two small islands that were reported to be right in front of Le Castella by numerous historical and cartographic sources. In the last decades, there has been a scientific debate over the existence of these islets, but no convincing evidence has been found about their actual presence up until now. This research, funded by the Marine Protected Area "Capo Rizzuto", was conducted by means of underwater archaeological and geological surveys, geophysical seabed mapping systems, and both direct and instrumental optical surveys made with an Autonomous Surface Vehicle. The outcomes allow us to confirm the presence of these two partially emerged rock bodies up to half a millennium ago. In addition, the presence of anthropogenic extrabasinal materials in a marine area corresponding to one of the highest points of the submerged elevation allows us to define the exact position of one of the two islets. These archaeological findings have been subject, for the first time ever, to a thorough topographical and architectural analysis, then compared with other near and very similar submerged structures. On the basis of these comparisons, the findings should be attributed to the Byzantine Age or, at most, to the Middle Ages. In-depth archival research on portolan charts and navigation maps, in many cases unpublished and dating from the Middle Ages to the early 18th century, supports the results of our marine investigations from a historical point of view. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The interest of this article is to obtain the underwater broadband sound absorption characteristics by filling three layers of bubbles in Polydimethylsiloxane polymer (PDMS). In this underwater ultra‐thin metamaterial, three‐layer bubbles are arranged from small to large with the same radius center. The finite element analysis (FEA) method and transfer matrix (TM) method have good consistency in calculating the sound absorption coefficient of this metamaterial. The results reveals that sub‐wavelength metamaterial properties can be achieved below 6.4 MHz. Bubble coupling critical viscosity, waning coupling between layers, waveform transformation, and increasing scattering (reflection) waves all affect broadband sound absorption characteristics. The position and size of three bubbles are discussed, and design summary could be potentially in underwater ultrasound filter devices and medical ultrasound field. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Ocean fronts, widespread across the global ocean, cause abrupt shifts in physical properties such as temperature, salinity, and sound speed, significantly affecting underwater acoustic communication and detection. While past research has concentrated on qualitative analysis and small-scale research on ocean front sections, a comprehensive analysis of ocean fronts' characteristics and their impact on underwater acoustics is lacking. This study employs high-resolution reanalysis data and in situ observations to accurately identify ocean fronts, sound speed structures, and acoustic propagation features from over six hundred thousand Kuroshio Extension Front (KEF) sections. Utilizing marine big data statistics and machine learning evaluation metrics such as out-of-bag (OOB) error and Shapley values, this study quantitatively assesses the variations in sound speed structures across the KEF and their effects on acoustic propagation shifts. This study's key findings reveal that differences in sound speed structure are significantly correlated with KEF strength, with the channel axis depth and conjugate depth increasing with front strength, while the thermocline intensity and depth excess decrease. Acoustic propagation features in the KEF environment exhibit notable seasonal variations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Water surface micro-amplitude waves (WSMWs) of identical frequency are elicited as acoustic waves propagating through water. This displacement can be translated into an intermediate frequency (IF) phase shift through transmitting a frequency modulated continuous wave (FMCW) towards the water surface by a millimeter-wave radar, and information transmission across the water–air interface is achieved via the signal reconstruction method. In this paper, a novel mathematical model based on energy conversion from underwater acoustic to vibration (ECUAV) is presented. This method was able to obtain WSMW vibration information directly by measuring the sound source level (SL). An acoustic electromagnetic wave-based information transmission (AEIT) system was integrated within the water tank environment. The measured distribution of SL within the frequency range of 100 Hz to 300 Hz exhibited the same amplitude variation trend as predicted by the ECUAV model. Thus, the WSMW formation process at 135 Hz was simulated, and the phase information was extracted. The initial vibration information was retrieved through a combination of phase unwinding and Butterworth digital filtering. Fourier transform was applied to the vibrational data to accurately reproduce the acoustic frequency of underwater nodes. Finally, the dual-band binary frequency shift keying (BFSK) modulated underwater encoding acoustic signal was effectively recognized and reconstructed by the AEIT system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

As sound speed is a fundamental parameter of ocean acoustic characteristics, its prediction is a central focus of underwater acoustics research. Traditional numerical and statistical forecasting methods often exhibit suboptimal performance under complex conditions, whereas deep learning approaches demonstrate promising results. However, these methodologies fall short in adequately addressing multi-spatial coupling effects and spatiotemporal weighting, particularly in scenarios characterized by limited data availability. To investigate the interactions across multiple spatial scales and to achieve accurate predictions, we propose the STA-ConvLSTM framework that integrates spatiotemporal attention mechanisms with convolutional long short-term memory neural networks (ConvLSTM). The core concept involves accounting for the coupling effects among various spatial scales while extracting temporal and spatial information from the data and assigning appropriate weights to different spatiotemporal entities. Furthermore, we introduce an interpolation method for ocean temperature and salinity data based on the KNN algorithm to enhance dataset resolution. Experimental results indicate that STA-ConvLSTM provides precise predictions of sound speed. Specifically, relative to the measured data, it achieved a root mean square error (RMSE) of approximately 0.57 m/s and a mean absolute error (MAE) of about 0.29 m/s. Additionally, when compared to single-dimensional spatial analysis, incorporating multi-spatial scale considerations yielded superior predictive performance. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper is dedicated to the acoustic inversion of the vertical sound speed profiles (SSPs) in the underwater marine environment. The method of automatic differentiation is applied for the first time in this context. Representing the finite-difference Padé approximation of the propagation operator as a computational graph allows for the analytical computation of the gradient with respect to the SSP directly within the numerical scheme. The availability of the gradient, along with the high computational efficiency of the numerical method used, enables rapid inversion of the SSP based on acoustic measurements from a hydrophone array. It is demonstrated that local optimization methods can be effectively used for real-time sound speed inversion. Comparative analysis with existing methods shows the significant superiority of the proposed method in terms of computation speed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Bidirectional controllable propagation of waterborne sound holds significant importance in developing multifunctional underwater acoustic and mechanical devices. However, the existing waterborne acoustic metasurfaces have rarely explored the bidirectional sound modulations. Here, a class of Janus waterborne acoustic metasurface, enabling two‐faced arbitrarily asymmetric wavefront manipulations is reported. A three‐degree‐of‐freedom mechanical system facilitated by acoustic‐structure interaction underwater is proposed to introduce bianisotropic responses of unit cells. Monolayer ultrathin Janus metasurface is inversely designed by utilizing a function‐structure integrated topology optimization framework. Distinct underwater acoustic functionalities, including axial and oblique focusing, beam splitting, and sound diffusion, are successfully demonstrated. Underwater experiments are further conducted to validate the concept of Janus metasurface. The good consistency between experimental and simulated results confirms the excellent two‐faced asymmetric acoustic focusing performance. The proposed Janus metasurface opens up a new dimension for designing advanced waterborne acoustic devices with two‐faced multifunctional wavefront manipulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Underwater wireless communication stands as a captivating and swiftly progressing domain in recent. To support higher data rate and higher bandwidth applications, there is significant attention towards underwater acoustics along with Visible Light Communication (VLC) technology. Underwater sensor networking serves as the backbone of oceanic exploration efforts. Based on the traffic load and underwater environmental conditions, an appropriate communication link can be selected to achieve higher data rate. Acoustics supports communication over longer distances with lower data rate. Despite offering higher data rates, Visible Light Communication (VLC) faces limitations in terms of communication range, proving to be relatively short compared to other methods. A seamless transition is anticipated during data transmission and reception by employing Light Emitting Diodes (LEDs) and photo detectors on the optical-acoustic channel, bridging the gap between acoustic and optical communication methods. Utilizing MIMO-based Enhanced Reverse Polarity Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing (MIMO-ERPO-OFDM) in Underwater Optical Communication (UWOC) proves to be a superior approach, achieving a high throughput of 19.9 Mbps and a lower Bit Error Rate (BER) of 10− 1. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Target identification of ship-radiated noise is a crucial area in underwater target recognition. However, there is currently a lack of multi-target ship datasets that accurately represent real-world underwater acoustic conditions. To tackle this issue, we conducted experimental data acquisition, resulting in the release of QiandaoEar22—a comprehensive underwater acoustic multi-target dataset. This dataset encompasses 9 h and 28 min of real-world ship-radiated noise data and 21 h and 58 min of background noise data. To demonstrate the availability of QiandaoEar22, we executed two experimental tasks. The first task focuses on assessing the presence of ship-radiated noise, while the second task involves identifying specific ships within the recognized targets in the multi-ship mixed data. In the latter task, we extracted eight features from the data and employed six deep learning networks for classification, aiming to evaluate and compare the performance of various features and networks. The experimental results reveal that ship-radiated noise can be identified from background noise in over 99% of cases. For the specific identification of individual ships, the optimal recognition accuracy achieves 99.56%. Finally, we found using spectrum and MFCC as feature inputs and DenseNet as classifier can achieve excellent recognition performance. Considering the computational efficiency, CRNN and ECAPA-TDNN are also good choices. Our work not only establishes a benchmark for algorithm evaluation but also inspires the development of innovative methods to enhance underwater acoustic target detection (UATD) and underwater acoustic target recognition (UATR).

Dedicated coating materials for anechoism and furtivity in underwater acoustics must exhibit a strong reliability regarding their mechanical resistance to hydrostatic pressure. Soft porous materials, especially, a distribution of soft porous beads within a polyurethane matrix, have been previously proposed as an acoustic insulator device. The purpose of the present letter is to investigate the attenuation efficiency of soft porous silicone beads-based materials while being exposed to uniaxial loads mimicking hydrostatic pressures encountered in underwater acoustics. The acoustic performance of this locally resonant material is then compared to the classical coating technology using micro-balloons. The use of an adapted surfactant (a silicone alkyl polyether compound) in the fabrication process of the soft porous silicone-based beads, obtained through an emulsion templating process, leads to particles exhibiting an open porosity. The (resonant) attenuation of the soft porous beads-based material remains greater than the micro-balloons-based material until several bars. Above this critical resilience value, the mechanical stress irreversibly damages the soft porous beads. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The confinement of waves in open systems represents a fundamental phenomenon extensively explored across various branches of wave physics. Recently, significant attention is directed toward bound states in the continuum (BIC), a class of modes that are trapped but do not decay in an otherwise unbounded continuum. Here, the theoretical investigation and experimental demonstration of the existence of quasi‐bound states in the continuum (QBIC) for ultrasonic waves are achieved by leveraging an elastic Fabry–Pérot metasurface resonator. Several intriguing properties of the ultrasound quasi‐bound states in the continuum that are robust to parameter scanning are unveiled, and experimental evidence of a remarkable Q‐factor of 350 at ≈1 MHz frequency, far exceeding the state‐of‐the‐art using a fully acoustic underwater system is presented. The findings contribute novel insights into the understanding of BIC for acoustic waves, offering a new paradigm for the design of efficient, ultra‐high Q‐factor ultrasound devices. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Conventional active SONAR systems often use beamformers and matched filters separately to extract bearing and range information from the received signal and offer a straightforward way of creating a two‐dimensional map of the environment. In SONAR systems the minimum‐variance‐distortionless‐response beamformer (MVDR beamformer) is a commonly used type of beamformer, which will reconstruct the receive signal from a certain direction optimally. In terms of detecting the transmit signal, the most used method is the conventional matched filter. Both algorithms are simple to implement and perform well under various noise scenarios. The proposed method combines the beamformer and matched filter by introducing an extended channel model that allows the derivation of a multichannel Wiener filter to solve for the unknown reflection coefficients of the complete two‐dimensional environment. This results in adaptively calculated filter weights that will drastically improve the performance compared to a separate MVDR beamformer and matched filter. In addition, a parameter is introduced with which one can arbitrarily adjust the focus between angular and temporal resolution depending on the application. After the derivation, the performance is demonstrated with simulations and measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The longitudinal fluctuating forces of a propeller are a major cause of sound radiation of an underwater vehicle in the low frequency range. A hydraulic leveraged dynamic anti-resonance vibration isolator (HLVI) is proposed to attenuate the longitudinal vibration of a shaft system transmitted to the hull. The semi-analytical model of the shafting system with and without the isolator is set up by employing the frequency response synthesis method, in which the elasticity of the foundation is taken into consideration. Compared to the traditional isolation scheme and DVA, the proposed control scheme will not change the longitudinal effective stiffness and needs a small mass to attenuate the longitudinal vibration of the shafting system. A parametric study was conducted to investigate the key parameters of the isolator and their impact on its isolation performance. An experimental apparatus is set up to validate the isolation scheme. The acceleration frequency response results of the shafting system under axial excitation with both the frequency sweep method and discrete sinusoidal frequencies are presented and discussed. The results indicate that the proposed method is capable of attenuating the corresponding longitudinal vibration of the shafting system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This tutorial demonstrates the use of information geometry tools in analyzing environmental parameter sensitivities in underwater acoustics. Sensitivity analyses quantify how well data can constrain model parameters, with application to inverse problems like geoacoustic inversion. A review of examples of parameter sensitivity methods and their application to problems in underwater acoustics is given, roughly grouped into "local" and "non-local" methods. Local methods such as Fisher information and Cramér-Rao bounds have important connections to information geometry. Information Geometry combines the fields of information theory and differential geometry by interpreting a model as a Riemannian manifold, known as the model manifold, that encodes both local and global parameter sensitivities. As an example, 2-dimensional model manifold slices are constructed for the Pekeris waveguide with sediment attenuation, for a vertical array of hydrophones. This example demonstrates how effective, reduced-order models emerge in certain parameter limits, which correspond to boundaries of the model manifold. This example also demonstrates how the global structure of the model manifold influences the local sensitivities quantified by the Fisher information matrix. This paper motivates future work to utilize information geometry methods for experimental design and model reduction applied to more complex modeling scenarios in underwater acoustics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Modern challenges in the increasing exploitation of aquatic ecosystems require efficient, reliable, and noninvasive technologies to acquire biomass information on a large scale. For the past 40 years, hydroacoustics has been an essential tool to analyse fish populations and their relationship with the environment. Currently, split-beam echo sounders are standard tools used to reliably and accurately record data in oceans, estuaries, and lakes. To maximize the coverage volume and to increase target detection, and therefore data quality, the use of multi-beam echo sounders is a real asset. We propose here an innovative method for target strength (TS) calculation based on the signal from a reversible Mills cross multi-beam sonar, SeapiX (Exail), which also includes the analytical capability of a split-beam echo sounder. This innovative approach provides new original information when using a multi-beam sonar. The case study in Lake Bourget was based on a comparison of the simultaneous recordings of SeapiX and EK80 (SIMRAD) to prove the validity of this multi split-beam processing, as well as to estimate the in situ TS of fish. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Evaluation of possible effects of underwater sound on aquatic life requires quantification of the sound field. A marine sound source and propagation modelling workshop took place in June 2022, whose objectives were to facilitate the evaluation of source and propagation models and to identify relevant metrics for environmental impact assessment. The scope of the workshop included model verification (model-model comparison) and model validation (model-measurement comparison) for multiple sources, including airguns, a low-frequency multi-beam echo sounder, and a surface vessel. Several verification scenarios were specified for the workshop; these are described herein. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Understanding the characteristics of underwater sound channels is essential for various remote sensing applications. Typically, the time-domain Green's function or channel impulse response (CIR) is obtained using computationally intensive acoustic propagation models that rely on accurate environmental data, such as sound speed profiles and bathymetry. Ray-based blind deconvolution (RBD) offers a less computationally demanding alternative using plane-wave beamforming to estimate the Green's function. However, the presence of noise can obscure low coherence ray arrivals, making accurate estimation challenging. This paper introduces a method using the waveguide invariant to improve the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of broadband Green's functions for a moving source without prior knowledge of range. By utilizing RBD and the frequency shifts from the striation slope, we coherently combine individual Green's functions at adjacent ranges, significantly improving the SNR. In this study, we demonstrated the proposed method via simulation and broadband noise data (200–900 Hz) collected from a moving ship in 100 m deep shallow water. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sound exposure studies require replicated sound treatments for the results to be representative for sound classes in general. Additionally, reused treatments in replicated designs need to be accounted for statistically. The lack hereof is referred to as simple and sacrificial pseudoreplication, respectively, and results should be interpreted accordingly. We quantified the occurrence of these issues and subsequent interpretation of results in 104 underwater sound exposure studies (2019–2023). The majority of the studies (85%) did not replicate sound treatments. From the ones that did, most did not statistically acknowledge the hierarchical structure of the data. Unreplicated treatment designs limit the generalizability of the findings. Nevertheless, only small differences were found in how the results of unreplicated and replicated treatment designs were interpreted. This commentary aims to provide guidance in the design, analysis and interpretation of sound exposure studies, which are equally valid for aquatic and terrestrial research. • We quantified sound treatment pseudoreplication in underwater sound exposure studies. • Most papers did not replicate sound treatments (simple pseudoreplication). • Hierarchical treatment designs were often not statistically acknowledged. • We hope to contribute to reducing pseudoreplication in sound exposure studies. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes the Santos Basin Underwater Soundscape Monitoring Project (PMPAS-BS), a Brazilian ocean soundscape monitoring initiative. The main objective of the project is to quantify and assess hydroacoustic noise of anthropogenic origin in a large sedimentary basin extending from 23° S to 28° S on the southeastern Brazilian continental margin of the South Atlantic Ocean. Noise associated with oil and gas (O&G) exploration and production activities is the primary target, but this oceanic region also has busy shipping lanes for commercial, military, and fishing vessels. The two main hubs of Brazil’s export and import of goods by sea are located in this region: Santos and Rio de Janeiro ports. The project has three measurement components: mobile monitoring based on gliders and drifting acoustic profilers, fixed shallow-water monitoring based on acoustic measurements at coastal stations near shipping lanes associated with exploration and production activities in the Santos Basin, and fixed oceanic monitoring based on deep-water mooring lines equipped with passive autonomous acoustic recorders near production units, shipping lanes, and areas with lower intensity of O&G activities (pristine or reference sites). Numerical modeling of anthropogenic underwater acoustic noise has also been included as a fourth project component. The PMPAS-BS covers an area of more than 251,000 km² and uses several instruments with different methods and sensors for acoustic measurements. Its results provide current sound levels over a very large region of the western South Atlantic, both in areas more and less affected by anthropogenic activities. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper emphasizes the crucial needs and reasons to ensure the reliability and repeatability of underwater acoustic measurements. As an exemplification of the aforementioned acoustic measurements challenges, the development of metrological infrastructure in the area of underwater acoustics in GUM (Central Office of Measures, Poland) is presented. An analysis of presented solutions was carried out mainly in the low frequency range, in comparison with other solutions recently developed worldwide. Moreover, factors influencing the sensitivity of hydroacoustic measuring devices are discussed. The summary of this discussion outlines the further works aimed at ensuring the reliability and repeatability of underwater acoustic measurements. The conclusions present the current state of the calibration infrastructure of underwater acoustic devices, with particular emphasis on marine ecology and fisheries sciences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Machine learning-based source range estimation is a promising method for enhancing the performance of tracking both the dynamic and static positions of targets in the underwater acoustic environment using extensive training data. This study constructed a machine learning model for source range estimation using ship-radiated noise recorded by two vertical line arrays (VLAs) during the Shallow-water Acoustic Variability Experiment (SAVEX-15), employing the Sample Covariance Matrix (SCM) and the Generalized Cross Correlation (GCC) as input features. A feed-forward neural network (FNN) was used to train the model on the acoustic characteristics of the source at various distances, and the range estimation results indicated that the SCM outperformed the GCC with lower error rates. Additionally, array tilt correction using the array invariant-based method improved range estimation accuracy. The impact of the training data composition corresponding to the bottom depth variation between the source and receivers on range estimation performance was also discussed. Furthermore, the estimated ranges from the two VLA locations were applied to localization using trilateration. Our results confirm that the SCM is the more appropriate feature for the FNN-based source range estimation model compared with the GCC and imply that ocean environment variability should be considered in developing a general-purpose machine learning model for underwater acoustics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the ocean, bubbles rarely appear alone and are often not evenly distributed, which makes it complicated to predict the effect of ocean bubbles on sound propagation. To solve this problem, researchers have tried to use approximations such as equivalent and multiple scattering models, but these approximations are accompanied by large errors. Therefore, we propose a semi-numerical and semi-analytical calculation method for underwater sound fields containing non-homogeneous bubbles in this paper. Based on the attenuation cross section and scattering cross section of a single bubble, the non-homogeneous medium is divided into multiple layers of uniform medium. Each layer of the bubble group is regarded as a whole, which can fully reflect the influence of bubble group vibration and scattering on sound wave propagation and is conducive to faster calculation of the sound field of non-homogeneous bubbly liquids. Compared with the classic coupling model, the calculation process of this method is simpler and faster, which solves the problem of fast calculation of sound fields in bubbly liquids and simulation of distributed bubble groups containing non-homogeneous distributed bubbles. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Acoustic waves are essential tools for guiding underwater activities. For many years, numerical modeling of ocean acoustic propagation has been a major research focus in underwater acoustics. Normal mode theory, one of the earliest and most extensively studied methods in this field, is renowned for its well-established theoretical framework. The core of normal mode theory involves the numerical solution of modal equations. In classical normal mode models, these equations are typically discretized using low-order finite difference methods, which, while broadly applicable, suffer from a limited convergence rate. The spectral element method, widely used in the seismic field, is recognized for its spectral precision and flexibility. In this article, we propose a normal mode model discretized using the spectral element method. The weak form of the modal equation directly satisfies boundary and interface conditions without requiring additional operations. The entire computational domain can be divided into segments of varying number and length, configured according to environmental conditions. The perfectly matched layer technique is employed to simulate acoustic half-space boundary conditions, effectively addressing the high computational costs and numerical instability associated with traditional artificial absorbing layers. Based on these algorithms, we have developed a numerical program (SEM). This research verifies the accuracy of the spectral element model through three different types of numerical experiments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the shift toward sustainable energy production, offshore wind power has experienced notable expansion. Several projects to install floating offshore wind farms in European waters, ranging from a few to hundreds of turbines, are currently in the planning stage. The underwater operational sound generated by these floating turbines has the potential to affect marine ecosystems, although the extent of this impact remains underexplored. This study models the sound radiated by three planned floating wind farms in the Strait of Sicily (Italy), an area of significant interest for such developments. These wind farms vary in size (from 250 MW to 2800 MW) and environmental characteristics, including bathymetry and seabed substrates. Propagation losses were modeled in one-third-octave bands using JASCO Applied Sciences' Marine Operations Noise Model, which is based on the parabolic equation method, combined with the BELLHOP beam-tracing model. Two sound speed profiles, corresponding to winter and summer, were applied to simulate seasonal variations in sound propagation. Additionally, sound from an offshore supply ship was incorporated with one of these wind farms to simulate maintenance operations. Results indicate that sound from operating wind farms could reach a broadband sound pressure level (Lp) of 100 dB re 1 µPa as far as 67 km from the wind farm. Nevertheless, this sound level is generally lower than the ambient sound in areas with intense shipping traffic. The findings are discussed in relation to local background sound levels and current guidelines and regulations. The implications for environmental management include the need for comprehensive monitoring and mitigation strategies to protect marine ecosystems from potential acoustic disturbances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The superhydrophobicity of submerged surfaces typically pertains to the trapped air film at the liquid–solid interface, subject to wettability transitions from a Cassie–Baxter state to more unstable states that gradually collapse to high retention regimes, which are energetically more favorable. In this work, the dynamic evolution of those transient metastable states is correlated to the underwater acoustic performance of laser textured superhydrophobic surfaces, resolving the dependence of the ultrasound spectral response with the immersion time to capture the genuine contribution of the hierarchical subwavelength morphology, regardless of the air layer effects. Acoustic wave attenuation of the incident ultrasound energy is extensively quantified in transmission, accounting for instantaneous broadband sound blocking (>30 dB) within the spectral range 0.5–1.5 MHz. As a result of the air layer detachment with the immersion time, transmission coefficients increase accordingly, while acoustic fields in reflection unexpectedly evolve toward stealthiness and naïve acoustic camouflage, mostly ascribable to dissipative mechanisms at air layer interfaces. The intrinsic decay of the air layer effect is tentatively determined at different frequencies, since quantitative understanding of the transient lifetime governing underwater surface wettability is critical to design stable superhydrophobic character of laser induced subwavelength metastructures on the most promising acoustic materials – from eco‐friendly natural to artificial. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Remote sensing of seeps, the release of gas (mainly methane) from the seabed, is an urgent problem. The importance of detecting seeps in the Arctic shelf zone is constantly increasing due to degradation of underwater permafrost and the release of gas hydrates. Gas bubbles scatter underwater sound and their corresponding resonance frequencies are in the kilohertz range for seeps observed in nature. A promising method for detecting and studying seeps is probing with underwater sound near the denoted resonance frequency. This corresponds to a decrease in the operating frequency with respect to the traditional method of studying high-frequency sonars, so the proposed method will be classified as low-frequency in this study. This method expands the study area due to the low sound attenuation in water and the high scattering level near bubble resonances. The scattering strength was estimated taking into account collective interaction (group effects) of bubbles. The possibility of using low-frequency hydroacoustic systems to detect seeps is demonstrated using the results of a full-scale experiment using a simulated bubble jet as an example. A data processing method for detecting nonstationary scatterers is proposed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Due to the influence of the complex underwater environment, the sound speed constantly changes, resulting in the acoustic signal propagation trajectory being curved, which greatly affects the positioning accuracy of the underwater long baseline (LBL) system. In this paper, an improved LBL positioning method based on a B-spline surface for fitting the effective sound speed table (ESST) is proposed. Firstly, according to the underwater sound speed profile, the discrete ESST of each measurement station is constructed before the positioning test, and then, the node position of the B-spline surface is optimized by particle swarm optimization (PSO) to accurately fit the discrete ESST. Based on this, the improved LBL positioning method is constructed. In the underwater positioning test, the effective sound speed can be quickly found by measuring the time of arrival (TOA) of the acoustic signal and the target depth, and moreover, the target position parameters can be quickly and accurately estimated. The numerical simulation results show that the improved positioning method proposed in this paper can effectively improve the LBL positioning accuracy and provide the theoretical basis and the technical support for the underwater navigation and positioning. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In general, CNN gives the same weight to all position information, which will limit the expression ability of the model. Distinguishing modulation types that are significantly affected by the underwater environment becomes nearly impossible. The transformer attention mechanism is used for the feature aggregation, which can adaptively adjust the weight of feature aggregation according to the relationship between the underwater acoustic signal sequence and the location information. In this paper, a novel aggregation network is designed for the task of automatic modulation identification (AMI) in underwater acoustic communication. It is feasible to integrate the advantages of both CNN and transformer into a single streamlined network, which is productive and fast for signal feature extraction. The transformer overcomes the constraints of sequential signal input, establishing parallel connections between different modulations. Its attention mechanism enhances the modulation recognition by prioritizing the key information. Within the transformer network, the proposed network is strategically incorporated to form a spatial–temporal structure. This structure contributes to improved classification results, and it can obtain more deep features of underwater acoustic signals, particularly at lower signal-to-noise ratios (SNRs). The experiment results achieve an average of 89.4% at −4 dB ≤ SNR ≤ 0 dB, which exceeds other state-of-the-art neural networks. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This paper describes an unusual underwater biological chorus recorded in the Southern California Bight and presents a numerical modeling approach that replicates aspects of the chorus. During one experiment, the evolution of the directionality of the chorusing region over time is suggestive of "The Wave", the human waves performed by fans periodically standing and sitting in sports stadia around the world; here, the region of chorusing periodically propagated upcoast over 20 km of coastline at nearly 1.5 km/s. The chorus occurs predominantly at night in spring and summer, mostly in very shallow waters near the coast. It increases the underwater sound field levels within chorusing regions by 20-30 dB in the 50 Hz to 1 kHz frequency band. The chorus is composed of three parts; 1) a "sunset chorus" which is a 20-to-30 min continuous roar around sunset with received spectral levels up to 100 dB re 1 µPa²/Hz, 2) a "sunrise chorus" of lower level than the sunset chorus, and 3) an all-night-long cycling chorus. The cycling portion is made up of 15-to-20 s periods of higher received spectral levels (up to 90 dB re 1 µPa²/Hz within the chorusing region) each followed by a 10-to-20 s lull in which the spectral levels drop by 4-10 dB. This alternating pattern repeats every 30-40 s throughout the night. The numerical modeling approach is based on the physics of excitable media. A cellular automaton is used to model the two-dimensional spatial grid occupied by the calling animals (units), with each unit being either in the "resting", "excitable", or "active (calling)" state at each time step. Transition from resting to excitable and from active back to resting occurs automatically after a fixed period of time in the present state, whereas the probability of transitioning from excitable to active is determined not only by the elapsed time since entering the excitable state, but also by the received sound level at the unit location, creating a non-linear acoustics-based coupling between units. With appropriate inputs, many determined from measurements of the chorus properties and the individual animal calls themselves, simulations with the model can replicate the cycling levels in the night-long chorus, the continuous din of the sunset chorus, and (once properly initialized) the periodic upcoast evolution of the chorusing region ("The Wave"). When noise from a transiting ship is included in the simulations, the spatiotemporal characteristics of the chorus change appreciably, in ways similar to changes observed during the experiment. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A number of previous papers have used the coupled-mode method to assess three-dimensional scattering by cylindrically symmetric anomalies (seamounts, hills) or anomalies which are invariant in a horizontal direction (wedges, ridges). This paper makes an extension to combinations of these two anomaly types. The upper and lower depth boundaries of the anomalies may be flat or irregular, and the sound source may be anywhere in the medium. After a discretization of the anomalies of the two types with laterally homogeneous rings and strips, respectively, an adaptation of the coupled-mode method yields the solution of the pertinent Helmholtz equation. The adaptation involves a combination of Fourier-series summations to handle the ring anomalies and adaptive wavenumber integrations to handle the strip structure. For each anomaly, recursively computed reflection matrices relate the expansion coefficients for incoming and outgoing normal modes. Iterative solution of a linear equation system for the amplitudes of the scattered cylindrical waves from the ring anomalies, involving formulas for transformation between plane and cylindrical waves, yields an expansion of the field. Related expansions allow isolation of partial waves, multiply scattered among the anomalies. The paper includes examples from underwater acoustics and atmospheric acoustics. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

We propose a design of a tunable superior absorber based on the resonance absorption in underwater acoustic metastructure with nested hexagonal tracks. The structure comprises 37 hexagonal-shaped cells formed by two models depending on the formula for hexagonal numbers. Model I is labyrinthine acoustic metastructure (LAM), and model II is labyrinthine acoustic metastructure with a coil-up channel (LAMC). The results of model II demonstrate the achievement of a highly efficient sound absorber, with a maximum value of 0.999, within the frequency range of 130 Hz by rotating the third aperture at an angle of 180°. The effect of dissipative loss could be achieved by carefully controlling nested hexagonal tracks to achieve perfect absorption. Our research on tunable acoustic metastructure with absorbing properties has significant implications for engineering applications, particularly in noise mitigation. Our findings demonstrate the potential of these metastructures to provide tunable functionality, high efficiency, perfect absorption, and ease of construction, all within a compact design. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The extraction of typical features of underwater target signals and excellent recognition algorithms are the keys to achieving underwater acoustic target recognition of divers. This paper proposes a feature extraction method for diver signals: frequency−domain multi−sub−band energy (FMSE), aiming to achieve accurate recognition of diver underwater acoustic targets by passive sonar. The impact of the presence or absence of targets, different numbers of targets, different signal−to−noise ratios, and different detection distances on this method was studied based on experimental data under different conditions, such as water pools and lakes. It was found that the FMSE method has the best robustness and performance compared with two other signal feature extraction methods: mel frequency cepstral coefficient filtering and gammatone frequency cepstral coefficient filtering. Combined with the commonly used recognition algorithm of support vector machines, the FMSE method can achieve a comprehensive recognition accuracy of over 94% for frogman underwater acoustic targets. This indicates that the FMSE method is suitable for underwater acoustic recognition of diver targets. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Chiral metamaterials have been proven to possess many appealing mechanical phenomena, such as negative Poisson's ratio, high-impact resistance, and energy absorption. This work extends the applications of chiral metamaterials to underwater sound insulation. Various chiral metamaterials with low acoustic impedance and proper stiffness are inversely designed using the topology optimization scheme. Low acoustic impedance enables the metamaterials to have a high and broadband sound transmission loss (STL), while proper stiffness guarantees its robust acoustic performance under a hydrostatic pressure. As proof-of-concept demonstrations, two specimens are fabricated and tested in a water-filled impedance tube. Experimental results show that, on average, over 95% incident sound energy can be isolated by the specimens in a broad frequency range from 1 kHz to 5 kHz, while the sound insulation performance keeps stable under a certain hydrostatic pressure. This work may provide new insights for chiral metamaterials into the underwater applications with sound insulation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In the marine environment, many animals use sound to interact and communicate with their conspecifics or other species. Over the last decades, the development of sound recording systems has allowed a significant advance in our knowledge of sound production in marine animals. We deployed miniature sound and movement tags on Antarctic fur seals (AFS), a small otariid foraging on mesopelagic fish, to uncover potential underwater vocalizations in this species. Tags recorded underwater sounds synchronously with high‐resolution AFS movements and diving behavior, allowing us to investigate the behavioral context of vocalizations in the natural environment. We provide evidence of underwater vocalizations in foraging female AFS in a context of foraging at sea. AFS produced stereotyped calls made of low‐frequency pulses produced in series, exclusively during foraging dives. We hypothesized that these acoustic pulse series could be used as an acoustic lure to confuse or attract fish prey, however, a larger sample size is needed to study the adaptive significance of these underwater vocalizations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The model manifold, an information geometry tool, is a geometric representation of a model that can quantify the expected information content of modeling parameters. For a normal-mode sound propagation model in a shallow ocean environment, transmission loss (TL) is calculated for a vertical line array and model manifolds are constructed for both absolute and relative TL. For the example presented in this paper, relative TL yields more compact model manifolds with seabed environments that are less statistically distinguishable than manifolds of absolute TL. This example illustrates how model manifolds can be used to improve experimental design for inverse problems. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Abstract Multibeam imaging SONARs have been used for a range of measurement applications, such as measurements of fish lengths. This study aimed to quantify the accuracy of imaging SONAR systems, that varied in frequency and beam geometry, to measure the length of synthetic targets positioned perpendicularly. Blueprint Oculus imaging SONAR systems, with four different (centre) frequencies (750 kHz, 1.2 MHz, 2.1 MHz and 3 MHz), were used to measure the length of three targets of nominal lengths: 10 cm, 20 cm and at ranges between 1 and 15.5 m. The effect of beam geometry on measurement error was then examined using regression analysis. This study found that there was an overestimation of the actual length of the target for all measurements that was inversely proportional to the horizontal beamwidth. The measurement error can be reduced by normalising for beamwidth. However, the variation of measurements (i.e. the precision) was found to also increase with range, which was attributed to the increasing beam separation. It is important that the effect of beamwidth on the accuracy of target length measurements, by imaging SONARs is acknowledged in future studies. One approach to mitigating this problem, is to limit the range at which length measurements are made to a beamwidth that produces an estimated level of error that is acceptable for that study.

In recent years, underwater wireless ultrasonic energy transmission technology (UWUET) has attracted much attention because it utilizes the propagation characteristics of ultrasound in water. Effectively evaluating the performance of underwater ultrasonic wireless energy transmission is a key issue in engineering design. The current approach to performance evaluation is usually based on the system energy transfer efficiency as the main criterion, but this criterion mainly considers the overall energy conversion efficiency between the transmitting end and the receiving end, without an in-depth analysis of the characteristics of the distribution of the underwater acoustic field and the energy loss that occurs during the propagation of acoustic waves. In addition, existing methods focusing on acoustic field analysis tend to concentrate on a single parameter, ignoring the dynamic distribution of acoustic energy in complex aquatic environments, as well as the effects of changes in the underwater environment on acoustic propagation, such as spatial variability in temperature and salinity. These limitations reduce the usefulness and accuracy of models in complex marine environments, which in turn reduces the efficiency of acoustic energy management and optimization. To solve these problems, this study proposes a method to evaluate the performance of underwater ultrasonic energy radiation based on the spatial distribution characteristics of acoustic power. By establishing an acoustic power distribution model in a complex impedance–density aqueous medium and combining numerical simulation and experimental validation, this paper explores the spatial variation of acoustic power and its impact on the energy transfer efficiency in depth. Using high-resolution spatial distribution data and actual environmental parameters, the method significantly improves the accuracy of the assessment and the adaptability of the model in complex underwater environments. The results show that, compared with the traditional method, this method performs better in terms of the accuracy of the acoustic energy radiation calculation results, and is able to reflect the energy distribution and spatial heterogeneity of the acoustic source more comprehensively, which provides an important theoretical basis and practical guidance for the optimal design and performance enhancement of the underwater ultrasonic wireless energy transmission system. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In order to fulfill the practical application demands of precisely localizing underwater vehicles using passive electric field localization technology, we propose a scalar-potential-based method for the passive electric field localization of underwater vehicles. This method is grounded on an intelligent differential evolution algorithm and is particularly suited for use in three-layer and stratified oceanic environments. Firstly, based on the potential distribution law of constant current elements in a three-layer parallel stratified ocean environment, the mathematical positioning model is established using the mirror method. Secondly, the differential evolution (DE) algorithm is enhanced with a parameter-adaptive strategy and a boundary mutation processing mechanism to optimize the key objective function in the positioning problem. Additionally, the simulation experiments of the current element in the layered model prove the effectiveness of the proposed positioning method and show that it has no special requirements for the sensor measurement array, but the large range and moderate number of sensors are beneficial to improve the positioning effect. Finally, the laboratory experiments on the positioning method proposed in this paper, involving underwater simulated current elements and underwater vehicle tracks, were carried out successfully. The results indicate that the positioning method proposed in this paper can achieve the performance requirements of independent initial value, strong anti-noise capabilities, rapid positioning speed, easy implementation, and suitability in shallow sea environments. These findings suggest a promising practical application potential for the proposed method. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Optical properties of afterglow luminescent particles (ALPs) in mechanoluminescence (ML) and mechanical quenching (MQ) have attracted great attention for diverse technological applications. However, these unique phenomena need to be more clearly explained for the specific photonic application. Here, ALPs are designed for the development of a wearable and rewritable photonic display system as a communication toolbox under dark conditions or underwater environments with limited communication. This display system demonstrates long‐lasting MQ after short ML along the handwritten trajectories with mechanical pressure and the written content can be easily erased by short UV light irradiation, preserving the system integrity with the high reproducibility of ML and MQ responses. The effect of trapped electrons and the recharging process on the ML and MQ is assessed, which provides insights into their underlying mechanisms. In addition, this display system exhibits remarkable resistance to humidity and retains its rewritable and photonic capabilities underwater for a long‐term period. Furthermore, the rewritable property of display system on human skin is demonstrated, confirming their effectiveness as a wearable photonic display system. Taken together, this research will pave a big new avenue to develop biophotonic materials for various biomedical applications with mechano‐optical conversions. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Applying numerical modelling approach the accuracy in determining the distance between underwater sound sources and receivers is assessed at a range of several kilometers from each other in the Kara Sea in autumn. It is suggested that the main source of errors in determining the distance is the lack of accurate data on the vertical sound speed profile along the acoustic signal propagation path. Data from September and November were analyzed, in the interval between which significant changes in the profile take place, when the vertical sound speed gradient changes from negative to positive. Characteristic values of sound speed variations were obtained by statistical processing of hydrological data taken from the World Ocean Database. The results are important for analyzing the capabilities of underwater acoustic navigation. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The article presents the results of a high-frequency experiment to detect and determine the bearing of a small-sized underwater noise sound source, carried out in shallow waters of the Black Sea coast. Noise emission from the source was received by three single vector–scalar receivers located at the bottom. Holographic processing was used to detect and determine the bearing of a moving underwater source against a background of heavy shipping in the water area of the experiment. Estimates of the input signal/noise ratio are given. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]