Principal investigator

Julien Bonnel

Full Professor

• My activity is interdisciplinary and collaborative. My lab is open to interns, students and post-docs with various interests, covering signal processing, acoustics, oceanography and marine biology. My personal playground is in between signal processing and ocean acoustics, with a main focus on inverse problems and seabed inversion.
• Selected publication: J. Bonnel, S. Dosso, W. Hodgkiss, M. Ballard, D. Garcia, K. Lee, A. McNeese, and P. Wilson. Trans-dimensional inversion for seafloor properties for three mud depocenters on the new england shelf under dynamical oceanographic conditions. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 155(3):1825–1839, 2024

Current members of the lab

The order in the list reflects time of arrival in the lab, with most recent on top

Anil Aslihak

PhD student

• Anil received his B.S. in Electrical and Electronics Engineering from Middle East Technical University. He is interested in signal processing and machine learning, and enjoys working on problems that involve analyzing and interpreting complex signals. His current research explores how data-driven approaches can improve sensing and detection in real-world ocean acoustics systems. When he’s not in the lab, he’s likely enjoying the nice weather in San Diego.

Brandyn Butchard

MSc student

• Research topic: Seabed tomography using a distributed network of hydrophone

Maxwell Christopher

PhD student

• Subject: Acoustic study of the Ocean Twilight Zone
• Selected publication: M. Christopher, B. DeCourcy, A. Lavery and J. Bonnel. Impact of sub-bottom layers on low-frequency acoustic propagation in the abyssal plain during the New England Seamounts Acoustic experiment, to be presented at the ASA Fall meeting, Dec 2025, Honolulu.

Brendan DeCourcy

Research Associate

• Subject: Exploration of environmental sensitivity of underwater sound through the use of high performance computing equipment.
• Selected publication: B. DeCourcy and J. Bonnel. Geoacoustic inversion using 3d modal rays on the new england shelf break. In ASA meeting, Ottawa (Canada), May 2024.

Camille Wardlaw

PhD student

• Subject: Signal processing and inversion methods for quantification of mid- and high- frequency broadband acoustic scatterers
• Selected publication: C. Wardlaw, J. Bonnel, A. Lavery. Effects of airgun operations on targets in the deep scattering layer. 188th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, New Orleans, USA, 2025

Katherine Hoekstra

Navy MSc student

• Subject: Sound source localization in the Gulf Stream
• Selected publication: K. Hoekstra, J. Bonnel, J. Colosi, M. Alford, C. Bellerjeau, M. Dzieciuch and G. Voet. Estimation of source depth from low-frequency acoustic transmissions through the Gulf Stream, 188th Meeting of the Acoustical Society of America, New Orleans, USA, 2025

Arthur Varon

PhD student

• Subject: Predicting acoustic propagation using Machine Learning
• Selected publication: A. Varon, J. Mars, and J. Bonnel. Approximation of modal wavenumbers and group speeds in an oceanic waveguide using a neural network. JASA Express Letters, 3(6):066003, 2023.

Mark Goldwater

PhD student

• Mark earned his B.S. in Electrical and Computer Engineering from Franklin W. Olin College of Engineering and his S.M. in Electrical Engineering and Computer Science form the MIT-WHOI Joint Program. He has enjoyed working on applications in communications systems, signal processing, remote sensing, and machine learning. His current research is focused on applying machine learning to augment the abilities of acoustic sensors applied to problems in source detection and localization.
• Selected publication: M. Goldwater, D. Zitterbart, D. Wright, and J. Bonnel. Machine-learning-based simultaneous detection and ranging of impulsive baleen whale vocalizations using a single hydrophone. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 153(2):1094–1107, 2023

Past members of the lab

The order in the list reflects time of departure from the lab, with most recent on top

Ariel Vardi

PhD student

• Subject: Environmental characterization using Machine Learning
• Selected publication: A. Vardi, P. Dahl, D. Dall'Osto, D. Knobles, P. Wilson, J. Leonard, and J. Bonnel. Estimation of the spatial variability of the new england mud patch geoacoustic properties using a distributed array of hydrophones and deep learning. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 156(6):4229–4241, 2024.

Mathilde Gigot

Phd student

• Subject: Impact of noise on crustaceans
• Selected publication: M. Gigot, F. Olivier, G. Cervello, R. Tremblay, D. Mathias, T. Meziane, L. Chauvaud, and J. Bonnel. Pile driving and drilling underwater sounds impact the metamorphosis dynamics of Pecten maximus (L., 1758) larvae. Marine Pollution Bulletin, 191:114969, 2023

Kathryn Fung

Navy MSc student

• Subject: Broadband characteristics and environmental drivers of the ambient noise on the Chukchi Shelf
• Selected publication: K. Fung and J. Bonnel. Statistical and spatial characteristics of ocean ambient noise up to 1900 Hz on the Chukchi Shelf in the Arctic affected by climate change. In ASA meeting, Nashville (USA), Dec. 2022.

Gaétan Richard

PhD student

• Subject: Orca whales and sperm whales depredation behavior of the French Patagonian toothfish fishery
• Selected publication: Gaëtan Richard, Christophe Guinet, Julien Bonnel, Nicolas Gasco, and Paul Tixier. Do commercial fisheries display optimal foraging? the case of longline fishers in competition with odontocetes. Canadian Journal of Fisheries and Aquatic Sciences, (ja), 2017.

Thomas Paviet-Salomon

PhD student

• Subject: Modal wavenumber estimation using sparse analysis
• Selected publication: T. Paviet-Salomon, J. Bonnel, C. Dorffer, B. Nicolas, T. Chonavel, D. Tollefsen, D. Knobles, P. Wilson, and A. Dremeau. Estimation of frequency-wavenumber diagrams using a physics-based grid-free compressed sensing method. IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering, 47(3):565–577, 2021.

Youenn Jezequel

PhD student

• Subject: Acoustic ecology of the European lobster and the red spiny lobster
• Selected publication: Y. Jézéquel, L Chauvaud, and J. Bonnel. Spiny lobster sounds can be detectable over kilometres underwater. Scientific reports, 10(1):1–11, 2020.

Eva Chamarro

MSc student

• Subject: Localization of Bowhead whales in a shallow Patagonian bay using non-linear signal processing
• Selected publication: E. Chamarro, Marine mammal localization using advanced time-frequency analysis, MSc thesis, Institut Universitaire Européen de la Mer, 2020

Guillaume Beaumont

Postdoctoral Researcher

• Subject: Sound polarization and environmental fluctuations

Dimitrios Eleftherakis

Postdoctoral Researcher

• Subject: Normal mode propagation and geoacoustic inversion
• Selected publication: J. Bonnel, S. Dosso, D. Eleftherakis, and R. Chapman. Trans-dimensional inversion of modal dispersion data on the New England Mud Patch. IEEE Journal of Oceanic Engineering, 45(1):116–130, 2019.

Dorian Cazau

Postdoctoral Researcher

• Subject: Acoustical Meteorology
• Selected publication: D. Cazau, J. Bonnel, J. Jouma’a, Y. le Bras, and C. Guinet. Measuring the marine soundscape of the Indian Ocean with southern elephant seals used as acoustic gliders of opportunity. Journal of Atmospheric and Oceanic Technology, 34(1):207–223, 2017

Morgane Meillour

PhD student

• Subject: Combining passive acoustics and satellite remote sensing for coastal oceanic observations

Rémi Emmetière

PhD student

• Subject: Source depth discrimination in deep water using the waveguide/array invariants
• Selected publication: R. Emmetière, J. Bonnel, X. Cristol, M. Gehant, and T. Chonavel. Passive source depth discrimination in deep-water. IEEE Journal of Selected Topics in Signal Processing, 2019. in press, DOI: 10.1109/JSTSP.2019.2899968.

Ewen Conan

PhD student

• Subject: Source depth discrimination in shallow water using a horizontal line array
• Selected publication: E. Conan, J. Bonnel, B. Nicolas, and T. Chonavel. Using the trapped energy ratio for source depth discrimination with a horizontal line array: Theory and experimental results. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 145(2):2776–2786, 2017.

Emmanuelle Leroy

PhD student

• Subject: Passive Acoustic Monitoring of Antarctic Blue Whales in the Souhtern Indian Ocean
• Selected publication: E. Leroy, F. Samaran, J. Bonnel, and JY Royer. Seasonal and diel vocalization patterns of antarctic blue whale (balaenoptera musculus intermedia) in the southern indian ocean: A multi-year and multi-site study. PLOS ONE, 11(11):e0163587, 2016.

Louise Day

MSc student

• Subject: Passive acoustic study of southern elephant seal physiology
• Selected publication: L. Day, J. Jouma’a, J. Bonnel, and C. Guinet. Acoustic measurements of post-dive cardiac responses in southern elephant seals (Mirounga leonina) during surfacing at sea. Journal of Experimental Biology, pages jeb–146928, 2017.

Margaux Thieury

MSc student

• Subject: Estimation of baleen whale calling depth using Matched Mode Processing
• Selected publication: A. Thode, J. Bonnel, M. Thieury, A. Fagan, C. Verlinden, D. Wright, C. Berchok, and J. Crance. Using nonlinear time warping to estimate North Pacific right whale calling depths in the Bering Sea. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 141(5):3059–3069, 2017

Ali Komaty

Postdoctoral Researcher

• Subject: Matched Mode Processing in a Range Dependant Environment

Yann Le Gall

PhD student

• Subject: Acoustic source localization in an uncertain oceanic environment
• Selected publication: Y. Le Gall, S. Dosso, FX. Socheleau, and J. Bonnel. Bayesian source localization with uncertain green's function in an uncertain shallow water ocean. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 139(3):993–1004, 2016.

Florent Le Courtois

Postdoctoral Researcher

• Subject: Modal filtering using a short horizontal line array
• Selected publication: F. Le Courtois and J. Bonnel. Compressed sensing for wideband wavenumber tracking in dispersive shallow water. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 138(2):575–583, 2015

Bazile Kinda

Postdoctoral Researcher

• Subject: Waveguide invariant and shipping noise
• Selected publication: B.G. Kinda and J Bonnel. Passive acoustic observations of tide height in the iroise sea using ambient noise. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 138(3):EL299–EL304, 2015

Maximilien Vidal

MSc student

• Subject: Source depth discrimination using a horizontal line array

Olivier Le Bot

PhD student

• Subject: Detection, localization and characterization of underwater transient sounds
• Selected publication: O. Le Bot, C. Gervaise, J. Bonnel, and J. Mars. Désentrelacement de clics par analyse du rythme. Traitement du signal, 30:196–218, 2013

Benjamin Ollivier

MSc student

• Subject: Estimation of the detection distance of blue whale Z-call vocalizations in the Southern Ocean

Alexios Korakas

Postdoctoral Researcher

• Subject: Modal filtering using a horizontal line array