Solid-State Digital In-Situ Acoustic Data Acquisition

The problems of acoustic environmental data recording are studied to develop an alternative to conventional magnetic-tape digital storage for in situ recording instruments. Various physical data transducers are analyzed to determine which types are best suited for portable solid-state environmental recorders, and a discussion of information processing concentrates on the problems of high-density versus low-density digital data storage and on methods for effecting large-scale data reductions. Recent advances in integrated-circuit electronics are evaluated in terms of suitability for use in instrumentation requiring both large-scale memory capacity and low power consumption. Results of the research include functional block diagrams of an ambient sea-noise recorder and a shipping-container impact recorder. (Author)