Classical chaos and the sensitivity of the acoustic field to small-scale ocean structure

Abstract

Ray theory is usually the basis of data inversion schemes for acoustic remote sensing of the ocean. Chaotic ray paths are expected to be present whenever the ocean environment possesses small-scale, range-dependent structure. We are studying the implications of their presence for data inversion schemes. Using numerical simulations we consider ray-path characteristics for acoustic remote sensing of the Florida Current. We find small-scale bathymetric structure results in chaotic ray paths and an exponential proliferation of eigenrays. As a result, for each feature in the time-of-arrival pattern, there is associated not a single eigenray but a group, thereby limiting the spatial resolution of a remote sensing system.