Sediment models for the East Coast based on a priori information, geological data, and sediment inversions

Abstract

A preliminary sediment model for the U.S. East Coast with particular emphasis on the Shallow Water-2006 experimental site is presented. This sediment model will describe the bottom as layers of sediments with different properties. The layering information will be based on geological, geophysical, stratigraphy models and inversion results. The surface sediment description will be based on the Effect of Sound on Marine Environment (ESME) sediment models for the U.S. East Coast. This sediment model, developed as part of the ESME initiative, draws from a variety of data sources including the sediment texture database maintained by the United States Geological Survey. This database coupled with Hamilton, Biot-Stoll (with reduced number of parameters), or Buckingham models (to define the sediment geoacoustic properties) has the potential for providing an efficient surface sediment representation with large spatial coverage. Other sources of data, which will be used to develop the preliminary sediment model, include published sediment core data from the region and inversions results. The use of empirical orthogonal function-based sediment parametrization for inversions will be explored. This study will provide sediment data for the preliminary experimental design efforts prior to the experiment in 2006. [Work supported by Office of Naval Research.]