Development of Metrological Infrastructure in the Field of Underwater Acoustics in Poland

This paper contains a concept study of development of metrological infrastructure in the field of underwater acoustics aimed at ensuring metrological traceability and supporting research activity in this field in Poland. First of all, a review of the activity of different institutions in various areas of underwater acoustics has been adopted. An overview of the marine research areas such as oceanography, underwater security of critical infrastructure and maritime defense, marine physics, and biology has been made. Additionally, the implementation of the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive was analyzed. Different metrological needs resulting from a wide spectrum of activity have been analyzed. Moreover, analysis of documentation standardization regarding the calibration of underwater transducers as well as the entire signal processing channel has been performed. Based on the selection of the measurement methods, the metrological infrastructure necessary for calibration and testing has been determined. The advantages resulting from the development of national metrological infrastructure are defined as an uninterrupted continuity providing measuring equipment with quality and reliability confirmed by calibrations and metrological checks.