Contributions to sound level fluctuations by sound velocity fluctuations

Abstract

We study the influence, on an acoustic propagating wave, of locally correlated sound velocity fluctuations possessing, in the large, a slowly varying non-uniform intensity. The effect of the medium on the multiple-scattered wave in the direction of "on and off" line of sight propagation is explicitly derived in terms of physical parameters. With the above results, we calculate the scattering properties of a turbulent and thermally inhomogeneous wake. The interest in acoustic waves propagating through random media is due to the importance of scatter propagation in communication or remote sensing, on the one hand, and the limitations imposed upon sonar tracking and guidance systems for undersea vehicles on the other.