Environmentally associated signal-to-interference variability in low-frequency active sonar in Korea Strait

Abstract

An analysis has been conducted of spatial and temporal variability of target echo-to-interference measurements made during Area Characterization Test III (ACT III) in 1995 in the Korea Strait. The measurements were made over a 5-day period for five fixed bistatic geometries (spatial scale of order 200 square km) using explosive sources, bottom-mounted horizontal receiving hydrophone arrays, and passive reflector targets in 100-m-depth water under downward-refracting acoustic conditions. The bottom at the ACT III site was nearly flat, of sand–silt composition. Meteorological conditions were relatively calm over the conduction of the measurements, but the main proximate oceanographic feature, the South Korean Coastal Front, did result in a relatively varied and complex sound-speed environment. The signal-to-interference fluctuation statistics associated with a single ping was determined to give a standard deviation of order 1 dB, while the observed variability of signal-to-interference over the spatial and temporal scales of the measurements gave a standard deviation of about 2 dB. The observed variability of received signal-to-interference will be discussed in terms of physical causes and measurement error. [Work supported by ONR Code OA321.]