Ray Path in Exponential Plus Random Ocean with Two-Dimensional Mass Velocity

Abstract

Many experimental studies have demonstrated that the ray path in the ocean is appreciably influenced by one-dimensional mass motion of the water, as well as any random variations of the speed of sound with depth; but a survey of the literature shows no theoretical study of the same. It is this aspect of the subject matter that is covered in this paper. The ocean is assumed to be made of two layers, each with exponential speed of sound and mass velocity variation with depth. The top layer is, furthermore, assumed to have mass velocity along the ocean surface in addition to the velocity decaying along the depth. This characterizes a typical situation at the mouth of a river, and the mass velocity near the ocean bottom represents the usual ocean current. Both a theoretical as well as a numerical solution is attempted to show the significance of each variation by comparing the results with standard exponential and motionless ocean. [This research was supported by The Office of Naval Research—Acoustics Program.]