Performance of three hydrophone flow shields in a tidal channel

Pseudosound caused by turbulent pressure fluctuations in fluid flow past a hydrophone, referred to as flow noise, can mask propagating sounds of interest. Flow shields can mitigate flow noise by reducing non-acoustic pressure fluctuations sensed by a hydrophone. We evaluate the performance of three hydrophone flow shields (two nylon fabrics and an oil-filled enclosure) in a tidal channel with peak current speed of 1.3 m s⁻¹. All three flow shields reduced flow noise without attenuating propagating sound below 20 kHz. The oil-filled enclosure performed best, reducing flow noise by over 30 dB at frequencies below 40 Hz.