Effect of mesoscale eddies on the vertical spatial characteristics of wind-generated noise in deep ocean

Abstract

Mesoscale eddy is a marine phenomenon occurring frequently in deep ocean, and it will disturb the sound speed in the upper water layer. As a result, the mesoscale eddies will influence the propagation of wing-generated noise and cause the noise field to vary. In this paper, we investigate the effects of mesoscale eddies on the vertical spatial characteristics (including the noise vertical directionality and the noise vertical correlation) of wind-generated noise at different depths of its horizontal center of the eddy. In the study, the Gaussian eddy model is used to describe the sound speed fluctuation, and the ray and parabolic equation theories are used to describe the noise propagating in the near field and far field, respectively. Simulations indicate as follows. 1) At the depth of the eddy center, a clod-core eddy causes both the width of the horizontal notch and the noise vertical correlation to decrease, while the effect of a warm-core eddy is contrary to that of the cold-core eddy. 2) At the depth far from the eddy center, the effect of eddies is reduced, a cold-core and a warm-core eddy only lead the peak at the down edge of the horizontal notch in the noise directionality to rise and fall, respectively, and do not influence the noise vertical correlation. 3) The effect of an eddy becomes severe as its absolute strength becomes higher. The ray reversion method based on the principle of reciprocity is used to explain the physical reason behind the above phenomena. By the method the rays are launched from the noise receiving point and the polar angle and the strength of the noise arriving reversely along the ray paths are analyzed. It is shown that the change of the polar angle and the strength of the noise arriving reversely along the surface reflected ray paths in the presence of eddies are the main cause for changing the noise vertical spatial characteristics. Furthermore, simulations show that the analyses and conclusions in the study are still approximately valid when the receiving point deviates from the eddy center but the horizontal distance between them is short.