Investigation of auditory cues involved in human underwater sound localization

François Bernaschina (1) , Sophie Savel (2) , Pierre Bovet (3) , Carolyn Drake (4)

1 UNIGE - Université de Genève = University of Geneva
2 Sons
3 LPC - Laboratoire de psychologie cognitive
4 LPE - UMR8581 - Laboratoire de psychologie expérimentale

Theoretical arguments about underwater sound localization predict that auditory cues used in air are impaired in water, resulting in a theoretical inability to locate sounds under water. An azimuth identification task was conducted under water for 8 positions (0°, 45°, 90°, 135°, 180°, 225°, 270°, 315°) and 3 signals (400 Hz sine, 6 kHz sine, white-noise). Results demonstrate that localization was possible, at least for lateral positions, indicating that interaural cues are processed. The absence of spectral pinna cues may explain a large front/back confusion pattern.

Domaines: Acoustique [physics.class-ph]

François Bernaschina, Sophie Savel, Pierre Bovet, Carolyn Drake. Investigation of auditory cues involved in human underwater sound localization. 5ème Congrès Français d'Acoustique, Apr 2002, Lausanne, Switzerland. ⟨hal-01128127⟩