Deriving Deep Ocean Temperature Changes From the Ambient Acoustic Noise Field

Passively deriving the deep ocean temperature is a challenge. However, knowledge about changes in the deep ocean temperature are important in relation to climate change. In-situ observations are are and satellite observations are hardly applicable. Low-frequency sound waves of a few hertz can penetrate the deep oceans over long distances. As their propagation is temperature dependent, these waves contain valuable information that can be used for temperature monitoring. In this study, the use of interferometry is demonstrated by applying this technique to ambient noise measured at two hydrophone arrays located near Robinson Crusoe Island in the South Pacific Ocean. The arrays are separated by 40 km and are located at a depth of 800 m. Both arrays consist of three hydrophones with an interstation distance of 2 km. It is shown that the acoustic velocity, and with this the temperature variation, can be derived from measured hydro-acoustic data. Furthermore, the findings are supported by ocean models that describe the propagation of sound between the hydrophone arrays. This study shows the potential of using the ambient noise field for temperature monitoring in the deep ocean.