Webinar Archive: Distributed Ocean Sensing
Distributed Ocean Sensing Overview
Please join us for a discussion on the use of fiber-optic cable networks as large-scale, dynamic acoustic arrays for observing ocean processes and marine life.
Observing the changing Arctic Ocean with acoustics – September 23, 2026
Dr. Shima Abadi, Professor, University of Washington
Shima Abadi received her B.S. degree in Mechanical Engineering from the University of Tehran, Iran, in 2008, and her M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Mechanical Engineering, along with an M.S. in Applied Mathematics, from the University of Michigan in 2013. From 2013 to 2015, she was a Postdoctoral Research Scientist at the Lamont-Doherty Earth Observatory of Columbia University and a Visiting Scientist at the University of Washington’s School of Oceanography. She is currently a Professor at the University of Washington.
Dr. Abadi’s research centers on acoustical signal processing and its transformative applications in ocean sciences. She is widely recognized as a pioneer in applying distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) to ocean acoustics, advancing the use of fiber-optic cable networks as large-scale, dynamic acoustic arrays for observing ocean processes and marine life. Her work spans ocean noise interferometry, blind deconvolution, sound source localization, direction-of-arrival estimation, acoustical imaging, and marine bioacoustics.
Dr. Abadi’s contributions have been recognized with several prestigious honors, including the Medwin Prize in Acoustical Oceanography, awarded by the Acoustical Society of America, the A.B. Wood Medal from the Institute of Acoustics (UK), and two Best Paper Awards from the Acoustical Society of America (2009 and 2013). Her current research focuses on extracting physical and biological information from ocean ambient noise using large, irregular underwater sensing networks, including DAS arrays, cabled ocean observatories, and seismic survey systems.