Predictions of acoustic signals from explosions above and below the ocean surface: source region calculations

Abstract

In support of the Comprehensive Test Ban, research is underway on the long range propagation of signals from nuclear explosions in the deep underwater sound (SOFAR) channel. This first phase of our work at LLNL on signals in the source regions considered explosions in or above the deep (5000 m) ocean. We studied the variation of wave properties and source region energy coupling as a function of height or depth of burst. Initial calculations on CALE, a two-dimensional hydrodynamics code developed at LLNL by Robert Tipton, were linked at a few hundred milliseconds to a version of NRL`s weak shock code, NPE, which solves the nonlinear progressive wave equation. The wave propagation simulation was performed down to 5000 m depth and out to 10,000 m range. We have developed a procedure to convert the acoustic signals at 10 km range into `starter fields` for calculations on a linear acoustics code which will extend the propagation to ocean basin distances. Recently we have completed calculations to evaluate environmental effects (shallow water, bottom interactions) on signal propagation. We compared results at 25 km range from three calculations of the same I kiloton burst (50 m height-of-burst) in three different environments, namely, deep water, shallow water, and a case with shallow water sloping to deep water. Several results from this last `sloping bottom` case will be 2016 discussed below. In this shallow water study, we found that propagation through shallow water complicates and attenuates the signal; the changes made to the signal may impact detection and discrimination for bursts in some locations.