Gaussian beam tracing for calculating the broadband field in three-dimensional environments

Abstract

Ray tracing methods have a long history in underwater acoustics going back to a paper by H. Lichte in 1919 which also predicted the SOFAR channel. They remain extremely valuable today, partly because they present an intuitive view of sound propagation that readily allows for many extensions. For instance, targets and boundaries with complicated scattering can be included in a natural way; similarly, motion of boundaries, sources, receivers, and the ocean itself are easily treated. This talk will focus on the 3D extension with particular emphasis on broadband waveforms such as chirps or waveforms due to acoustic modems.