Geoacoustic inversion using combustive sound source signals

Abstract

In the summer of 2006, the combustive sound source (CSS) was deployed off the coast of New Jersey during the Shallow Water 2006 experiment (SW-06). CSS generates an oscillating bubble through the combustion of a fuel/oxidizer mixture, which in turn yields a low frequency acoustic pulse [Wilson, Ellzey, and Muir, IEEE J. Ocean. Eng. 20 (1995)]. The depth of these shots was 26 m in water depths of the order of 100 m. Source levels were monitored using a hydrophone placed close to the source. CSS data collected downrange on single hydrophone receiving units (SHRU) are presented. Five SHRUs were deployed by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) in water depths ranging from 65 to 110 m. The CSS data collected indicate modal dispersion and are used for geoacoustic inversions. These inversions are based on matching the observed and modeled group speed dispersions including Airy phase. Historic sediment data from the location are utilized to constrain the inversions. [Work supported by the Office of Naval Research.]