Environmental uncertainty in modeling of shallow-water reverberation

Abstract

Simulated monostatic shallow-water reverberation is produced by a broadband model that accounts for propagation and scattering in a waveguide that is horizontally stratified on average, but subject to slightly rough interfaces and small, random spatial fluctuations in density and sound speed. This model has been used to infer parameters characterizing these inhomogeneities (scattering parameters) from experimental data, assuming a specific background geoacoustic profile. In realistic situations, however, the background environment may either not be known with precision or may be too variable to admit a range-independent characterization. It is even possible that several geoacoustically distinct alternative sets of environmental parameters are plausible. This may occur, for instance, when geoacoustic inversion is used to determine a background profile. In this presentation, the effects of environmental uncertainties, including the existence of alternative geoacoustic profiles, on scattering parameters inferred from reverberation data are examined. [Work supported by ONR.]