HIGH THROUGHPUT CONTINUOUS FLOW MAGNETIC CELL SORTER

Not Available Environmentally adaptive sonar decision aids are needed to help sonar operators determine how to effectively deploy sonobuoy fields. Previous evaluation of the Airborne Low Frequency Sonar (ALFS) system indicated search rate improvements of 30%-100% are theoretically possible through proper selection of sonar deployment parameters. Achieving these improvements depends on an ability to predict acoustic coverage. Practical use of these predictions requires feedback via in situ measurements to improve the estimates of the actual environmental characteristics. This SBIR will estimate the potential improvement in acoustic coverage achievable through selection of effective IEER/ADAR multi-static deployment geometries. The following will be determined as part of this Phase I effort: (1) Sensitivity to knowledge of the environmental parameters, (2) characteristics of an air-deployable sensor that utilizes Matched Field Techniques to estimate environmental parameters over an ocean volume, and (3) feasibility of implementing such a sensor in an A-size sonobuoy configuration.