Real-time acoustic modeling in the New England Shelf Break Experiment

Abstract

During the New England Shelf Break Acoustics Experiment (NESBA) in May of 2021, signals emitted and received by instruments on deployed moorings were successfully modeled while at sea. Using a combination of physical oceanography models and data collected from CTD measurements to determine the sound speed, both parabolic equation (PE) and ray tracing methods were used to model signals received by hydrophones as part of the experiment. Qualitative comparison between model output and hydrophone data was used to inform model adjustments to better represent the acoustic data, ultimately producing a promising data/model agreement during the cruise. Post-cruise research involved incorporation of additional data from the NESBA cruises and model adjustments to more adequately reflect the environmental properties of the experiment site. The success of the initial real-time modeling tests and subsequent improvements to the techniques support their use in future field experiments. [Work supported by the Office of Naval Research.]