Measurements and modeling of transmission loss variability in Barrow Strait

Abstract

During the summer of 2012, a field trial was held in Barrow Strait, south of Devon Island in the Canadian Arctic. The trial included a set of acoustic transmission loss experiments recorded on Starfish Sensor Cubes, which include a 1-m cube of seven hydrophones operating in the frequency range of 5 - 750 Hz. The transmission loss runs consisted of 10-minute and 20-minute duration transmissions of 400 Hz and 500 Hz tones made at a discrete set of distances up to 60 km from the recorders. Supporting environmental measurements included sets of CTD (conductivity-temperature-depth) profiles and bathymetric measurements. The effects of the measured environmental properties and variability are investigated via propagation modeling, and compared to the experimental data acquired during these experiments.