Development of calibration technique for underwater transducers in free field conditions below 1000 Hz with results on an acoustical recorder

A calibration technique with potential for low frequencies and sizeable systems of underwater transducers is being developed at the Swedish Defence Research Agency. The technique is based on the three-transducer spherical wave reciprocity method for use in an ice-covered lake with a depth of 220 m in the Swedish arctic zone. The calibration is performed at a depth of approximately 100 m with inter-transducer separations of 50 m, 86.6 m, and 100 m, allowing for frequencies down to 59 Hz using time-gated tone burst signals. In this paper, the calibration location, system, and technique are introduced, and the calibration results of an acoustical recorder in the range of 59 Hz–1 kHz are presented. The sensitivity is varying with frequency around −148 dB re 1 V/μPa, and the uncertainty budget is discussed.