Analysis of Influence of the Seamount in the South China Sea on Sound Propagation

Abstract

The influence of seamounts on sound propagation is very important, and it is also a research hotspot for hydroacoustic. This paper uses the BELLHOP ray model to analyze the influence of seamounts in the South China Sea on sound propagation, it is found that the blocking of seamounts has a greater impact on the spatial distribution of the transmission loss. When forward propagation, the distribution of the transmission loss is mainly influenced by seamounts, and its temporal variation is not obvious. When the sound source is relatively far away from the first seamount, the first seamount does not have a great influence on the distribution of the transmission loss. When backward propagation, the transmission loss increases rapidly after passing through the first seamount. Most of the sound energy is blocked due to the higher height of the first seamount. In addition, the impact of the undulating bottom on the front of seamounts on sound propagation should also not be ignored during backward propagation. The seamount determines the most important characteristics of the transmission loss distribution, while the undulating bottom has a certain degree of influence on the distribution characteristics of some specific regions. The above results have important applications for target detection and hydroacoustic communication in the area of seamounts.