The Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate (ATOC) project is a four-year feasibility study funded by the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program (SERDP) of the University of California. ATOC is composed of two complementary environmental initiatives. ATOC's first goal is to gather information about oceanic temperatures so as to test and modify existing climate models and thereby improve on future climate change predictions. The technique consists of transmitting sound waves across entire oceans, with the time of wave transit being indicative of relative ocean temperatures. ATOC's second goal is implemented through its Marine Mammal Research Program (MMRP). Led by bioacoustic researchers, the MMRP has been designed to assess the potential effects of low frequency sound transmissions on sea turtles and marine mammals (specifically, deep-diving pinnipeds, odontocetes, and mysticetes). While MMRP researchers are responsible for the operation and scheduling of the transmissions, climatic data is collected opportunistically at ATOC receiver sites. The ATOC website contains reports of the project strategies, periodic results from both projects, descriptions of the receiver sites, and the transmission schedules.
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