Summarizes what humans know about the physiological, mathematical, acoustical, and engineering aspects of dolphins' ability to echolocate, which is better than any man-made sonar system at recognizing and classifying targets in noisy environments. Among the topics are the characteristics of the projected signals and their beam patterns, target detection and discrimination capabilities, mathematical modeling, and a comparison of dolphin and bat sonar systems. The chapters vary in their mathematical sophistication, but are nonspecialized in order to appeal to a wide range of scientists in the physical and biological disciplines. Annotation copyright Book News, Inc. Portland, Or.
The extraordinary ability of dolphins to echolocate has fascinated scientists and the public since its discovery in the late 1950's. This is the first book to summarize modern research in this area, and presents a broad synthesis of this very interdisciplinary subject. The author is an internationally-recognized expert on dolphin sonar and is thus in a unique position to bring together research on the physiological, mathematical and engineering aspects of the subject. Of interest to auditory researchers, electrical engineers, acoustical physicists, and mammalian physiologists.
This is the definitive technical synthesis of our knowledge of dolphin sonar. Au's book combines anatomical, physiological, mathematical and engineering aspects of dolphin sonar. Enthusiastically received by reviewers as a "classic."
