An inexpensive passive acoustic system for recording and localizing wild animal sounds

An inexpensive animal recording and tracking system was designed, which use s sound-recording buoys deployed at several locations simultaneously in a p assive hydrophone array. Each buoy contains a global positioning system (GP S) Location logger, a stereo digital audio tape (DAT) recorder with a hydro phone connected to one channel, and a VHF radio signal for time synchroniza tion connected to the second channel. In a calibration test, three buoys we re deployed in triangle formation at 1.8-km spacing. Light bulb implosions were localized to an accuracy of 60 m at the array center. These buoys are far less expensive than most marine acoustic tracking systems. The instrume nt package can be used for drift, moored, or terrestrial applications. (C) 2000 Acoustical Society of America, [S0001-4966(00)02906-4].