Directional noise and correlation of signal and noise variability in the ASIAEX South China Sea Experiment

Abstract

As part of the 2001 ASIAEX South China Sea experiment, known acoustic signals and noise were recorded for 16 days with co-located horizontal and vertical receiving arrays in 120-m depth water at the edge of the continental shelf. The location was south of China and southwest of Taiwan. Vertical and horizontal directionality of both signals and noise can be estimated using the two arrays. Directionality can be linked to vertical mode bandwidth. Furthermore, because of mode stripping effects, it can indicate the amount of mode coupling in the vicinity of the receiver. Previously, arrival time and total energy of the signals have been shown to respond to the strong nonlinear internal waves and internal tides of the area. Here, we investigate the response of noise energy and directionality to the waves, and compare with the response of signal energy and directionality. The results can be compared to the Shelfbreak PRIMER experiment in the Mid-Atlantic Bight, where signal and noise parameters recorded with a VLA were correlated. Correlation of signal and noise violates assumptions used in many signal processing algorithms.