Parameter estimation of underwater impulsive noise with the Class B model

Abstract

The statistical characteristic of ocean ambient noise plays an important role in developing underwater signal processors. Considering that the noise in shallow water shows the impulsive nature, non-Gaussian noise models are usually applied to model the ocean ambient noise. In this study, the ocean ambient noise is modelled by using the Middleton Class B model, which can be decomposed into Gaussian and non-Gaussian models. Then, the parameters of Class B model are estimated based on the least-square estimation method, which can be deduced by using the characteristic function of the Middleton Class B model. The processing results of simulated data and real data indicate that the presented method well estimates the parameters of Class B modelled noise. Besides, it further shows that the Middleton Class B model is suitable for modelling the impulsive noise in shallow water.