Computer model simulations of reverberation from the ARSRP acoustics experiment

Abstract

Detailed reverberation measurements were made from the mid-Atlantic ridge region during the 1993 Acoustics Experiment, Acoustic Reverberation Special Research Program (ARSRP). The reverberation scenario (designated as ‘‘Seg 076’’) that ensonified a segment of sedimented seafloor overlying an anelastic subbottom has been examined. Computer simulations of the reverberant field were generated and compared with the ARSRP measured reverberation. Time domain and cw computer simulations were made using high-resolution ocean acoustic–seismoacoustic computer models. Several realizations of the rough range-dependent sediment and sub-bottom were used (from the Webb–Jordan sediment distribution model and the Goff–Jordan fractal seafloor/basement model). Computer simulations allowed ‘‘numerical experiments’’ to be performed whereby parts of the environment were changed or eliminated. Simulation results that help identify those seafloor regions responsible for the reverberant returns are presented. [Work supported by ONR, Acoustic Reverberation SRP, and the High Performance Computing DoD Shared Resource Center: U.S. Army Corps of Engineers Waterways Experiment Station (CEWES) HPC Center, Vicksburg, MS.]