Estimation of Geoacoustic Properties by Inversion of Acoustic Field Data

Abstract

The reconstruction of a geoacoustic model of the ocean bottom from acoustic field data is an important inverse problem in ocean acoustics. This paper presents a review of techniques which have been developed for inverting acoustic field measurements in deep and shallow water to infer geoacoustic model parameters. These include inversion of total field data by analysis of the propagation loss or the depth-dependent Green’s function, inversion of Scholte wave dispersion properties, and inversion of bottom reflected field data by analysis of bottom loss or the transient waveform. An example is also given for the use of matched field processing for the estimation of bottom properties. The results derived from the various methods are compared with estimates from non-acoustic methods.