Modeling sound propagation in the Great Salt Lake

Abstract

Acoustical waves can be monitored in a quiet underwater environment to identify noises, such as impacts and explosions. Our goal was to find the range of distance that acoustical sources can be detected in the Great Salt Lake. We measured the pressure from line explosives in the lake from varying distances to a triangle array of receivers. Various acoustical properties of the lake, like sound speed, density, and coefficient of attenuation, were then used in a range-independent propagation model to calculate transmission loss. Given the high salinity and shallow depth, the estimated transmission loss in the lake is large with this range-independent assumption. We found that in the best case scenario, there is a 60 dB re 1 μPa transmission loss at 3 km for most frequencies, which complicates source detection.