Acoustic Mapping and Characterization of Seafloor Hydrothermal Discharge With Multibeam Echosounders on Uncrewed Underwater Vehicles

Guangyu Xu, Ph.D., earned his bachelor’s degree in marine technology from the Ocean University of China in 2008, followed by an master’s degree in marine sciences from the University of Georgia in 2011, and a doctoral degree in oceanography from Rutgers University in 2015. From 2015 to 2018, he was a postdoctoral scholar/investigator at Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. In 2018, he joined the Acoustics Department of the Applied Physics Laboratory at the University of Washington as a SEED postdoctoral fellow. He transitioned to his current position as a research scientist in 2020. His research leverages underwater acoustics and numerical modeling to address scientific questions related to hydrothermal venting at mid-ocean ridges, sound propagation in coastal waters, and marine sediment characterization.

Karen Bemis, Ph.D., is a volcanologist and oceanographer interested in both how heat is transferred out of the mantle and how volcanoes grow. Her research includes the study of hydrothermal systems, ocean eddies, volcano morphology, and volcanic eruption processes. She is an assistant research professor at Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey with associations in the departments of Marine and Coastal Sciences, Earth and Planetary Sciences, and Electrical and Computer Engineering as well as the Professional Science Master’s program.

Aaron Marburg, Ph.D., is a principal research engineer at the University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory (UW-APL). His research includes computer vision and perception, robotic autonomy, and autonomous manipulation for underwater vehicles, as well as the design of novel underwater instrumentation. Prior to UW-APL, Aaron worked at MIT Sea Grant, Bluefin Robotics, and MBARI (Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute). He received his doctorate in electrical and computer engineering from the University of Canterbury in Christchurch, New Zealand.

Darrell R. Jackson, Ph.D., received bachelor’s, master’s, and doctoral degrees in electrical engineering from the University of Washington, in 1960, 1962, and 1966, respectively. His doctoral thesis research and subsequent work with the Boeing Company was directed toward applications of magnetic resonance and magnetoelasticity. This work was continued as a faculty member with the University of Massachusetts in Amherst. He returned to graduate school in 1972, obtaining a doctoral degree in theoretical physics from the California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, in 1977, with a dissertation on the extraction of experimental predictions from quark-gluon theory. Since joining the University of Washington’s Applied Physics Laboratory (UW-APL) in 1976, his research has centered on underwater acoustics. Since retirement in 2000, he has continued his research as principal engineer emeritus with UW-APL and coauthored the book High-Frequency Seafloor Acoustics with Michael Richardson. Darrell is a fellow and silver medalist of the Acoustical Society of America.

Elizabeth (Liz) Weidner, Ph.D., is an acoustical oceanographer who specializes in the broadband acoustic study of the oceans. Her research includes the study of marine terminating glaciers, gas bubble seeps, ocean structure, and hydrothermal systems. She is an assistant professor of marine sciences at the University of Connecticut. Prior to joining the faculty at University of Connecticut, Liz was a postdoctoral fellow at Scripps Institution of Oceanography and received her doctorate in oceanography from a joint program between the University of New Hampshire and Stockholm University.