High-Precision Laser Interferometric Underwater Pressure Meter at the Oceanographic Platform in the Black Sea

G. I. Dolgikh1, V. A. Dulov2, ✉, V. A. Chupin1, A. V. Garmashov2, V. A. Shvets1, S. V. Yakovenko1, A. A. Latushkin2, O. T. Kamenev3

1 V. I. Il’ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute, Far Eastern Branch of the Russian Academy of Sciences, Vladivostok, Russian Federation

2 Marine Hydrophysical Institute of RAS, Sevastopol, Russian Federation

3 Institute of Automation and Control Processes, Far Eastern Branch of RAS, Vladivostok, Russian Federation

✉ e-mail: dulov1952@gmail.com

Abstract

Purpose. This paper describes an experiment involving the trial run of a high-precision laser interferometric underwater pressure meter (LIPDMS) at the MHI oceanographic platform in the Black Sea during October–November, 2024. The device’s ultra-high sensitivity makes its performance highly dependent on operating conditions, particularly deployment depth and water temperature. The main objective was to calibrate the instrument under these platform-specific conditions, which required addressing a non-trivial independent problem: an experimental assessment of the transfer function linking the frequency spectra of sea surface elevations and pressure pulsations at a depth of 27 m.

Methods and Results. The LIPDMS features a virtually unlimited dynamic range while preserving high sensitivity, achieved through an original data recording system. An algorithm was developed to extract usable data from unprocessed records. The entire dataset was analyzed using classical spectral methods. A strong temperature influence on pressure signals was revealed, manifested as high coherence across all periods exceeding 30 s, likely due to thermal expansion of structural components. The relationship between pressure fluctuations at 27 m depth and synchronously measured sea surface elevations (recorded by a wave gauge at the platform) was experimentally investigated, and the corresponding transfer function was estimated. Wave records enabled end-to-end calibration of the LIPDMS.

Conclusions. The observed influence of water temperature on the LIPDMS signal requires further investigation of its mechanism and the development of methods for its compensation or suppression. Direct experimental evaluation of the transfer function linking surface wave spectra to pressure fluctuation spectra measured by the LIPDMS confirmed a linear relationship consistent with the classical formula from linear gravity wave theory for intermediate water depths. The calibration performed for a depth of 27 m and water temperature ranging from 15 to 9 °C allows conversion of the instrument’s output signal into physical pressure units (Pa). The obtained data can be used as calibrated bottom pressure measurements on timescales shorter than 30 s. Overall, the LIPDMS demonstrated stable performance during prolonged deployment at the oceanographic platform under the complex meteorological and wave conditions typical of the autumn Black Sea.

Keywords

laser interferometric measuring instruments, high-precision underwater pressure sensor, oceanographic platform of MHI RAS, marine measurements, surface waves at intermediate depth, underwater pressure fluctuations

Acknowledgements

The authors are grateful to Yu. Yu. Yurovsky (Head of the Laboratory of Applied Marine Physics, MHI RAS) for providing wave and meteorological data for the experiment and for valuable discussions. This research was funded under Contract EP-19/2025 dated April 29, 2025, within the framework of the project of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation entitled “Study of the processes and patterns of occurrence, development and transformation of catastrophic phenomena in the oceans and on the continents using seismic-acoustic monitoring methods” (No. 075-15-2024-642 dated July 12, 2024).

Original russian text

Original Russian Text © The Authors, 2025, published in MORSKOY GIDROFIZICHESKIY ZHURNAL, Vol. 41, Iss. 6, pp. 823-842 (2025)

For citation

Dolgikh, G.I., Dulov, V.A., Chupin, V.A., Garmashov, A.V., Shvets, V.A., Yakovenko, S.V., Latushkin, A.A. and Kamenev, O.T., 2025. High-Precision Laser Interferometric Underwater Pressure Meter at the Oceanographic Platform in the Black Sea. Physical Oceanography, 32(6), pp. 841-860.

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