What are the different Between Active and Passive Acoustic?
From Sound to Insight: Explore the Power of Acoustic Sensors
Acoustic sensors are transforming how we monitor, protect, and operate in aquatic environments—detecting underwater noise, emissions, and environmental change in real time.
In the vast and complex underwater world, sound is the key to understanding and navigating. Marine acoustics allows us to detect life, assess ecosystems, and ensure safe operations beneath the waves. There are two primary approaches:
- Active acoustics, which emit sound and interpret the echoes - Passive acoustics, which listen silently to natural and human-made underwater sounds
Understanding the difference is essential for designing monitoring systems that are both effective and sustainable.
What is Active Acoustic Technology?
Active acoustics use devices (transducers) to send out sound waves into the environment. These waves bounce back upon hitting objects or animals, and their echoes are analyzed to identify, locate, or map underwater features.
Because they actively emit sound, these systems require higher energy but deliver instant and detailed feedback, ideal for real-time applications.
Navigation & depth sounding
Fisheries & species tracking
Habitat & seabed mapping
Submarine and object detection
Behavioral monitoring of fish and marine mammals
Active sonar is used to monitor fish abundance, detect Krill swarms, and study dolphin behavior during targeted surveys or oceanographic campaigns.
What is Passive Acoustic Technology?
Passive acoustics use hydrophones or microphones to capture and analyze existing sounds in the environment—without emitting any signal. They simply "listen."
Passive systems require very low power, allowing for long-term deployments without disturbing wildlife—ideal for continuous monitoring.
Marine mammal surveillance
Noise pollution analysis
Underwater seismic detection
Animal migration & behavior tracking
Environmental compliance monitoring
Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) is deployed in protected marine zones to detect whale vocalizations or monitor noise from vessel traffic—without disrupting the animals.
Future of Marine Acoustic Technology
Advancements in Active Acoustics
Multibeam sonar for 3D mapping
Higher frequency systems for fine detail
Autonomous deployment on AUVs & ROVs
Real-time processing for fast decision-making
Innovations in Passive Acoustics
Miniaturized hydrophones for flexible deployment
Directional listening arrays for source localization
Integration with AI to detect and classify species
Acoustic telemetry to track tagged marine life
Sinay's Integrated Acoustic Solutions
At Sinay, we lead innovation in both active and passive marine acoustics, offering cutting-edge technologies to monitor and protect ocean environments.
PAM buoys with wideband hydrophones for marine mammal detection
Sonar & active detection systems for hazard identification and object tracking
Integrated AI platform for analyzing noise levels and marine life data
Connectivity infrastructure to link sensors, vessels, and coastal stations
Custom dashboards for alerts, data visualization, and compliance reporting
