Developments in shallow water seismoacoustics

Abstract

Since the 1970s, when low‐frequency acoustics in shallow water became a priority topic, developments have progressed from propagation loss in the frequency domain, to waveguide phenomena dominated by bottom interaction, to ocean bottom seismology and studies of interface waves involving sediment rigidity. Emphasis has now been placed on the entire propagation medium, including the water column, the sediment interface, the volume of unconsolidated sediments, and the underlying bedrock strata; as well as on the entire spectrum of wave types, which in reality are part and parcel of a single unified process. Sophisticated research tools have been developed for these studies, including remotely operated, three‐axis seismometers, machines to deploy them at depth within the sediments, and various computer models, such as the SAFARI code that can address the creation and propagation of seismoacoustic waves. Results obtained with these tools in research done in the shallow seas surrounding Italy, Norway, and Spain...