Sequential source localization in coastal water under the circumstances of time-evolving sound speed profiles

Abstract

The sound speed profile (SSP) in water column is highly variable in time and space and can not be accurately known among measurement periods in coastal water. These factors will lead to the modeling mismatch and influence the performance of source localization of matched filed processor (MFP). The possibility of sequential tracking of source range and depth under the circumstances of time-evolving sound speed profiles is discussed. In this paper, we attempt to describe the time evolution characteristics of SSPs by analyzing the oceanographic dynamics which is the physical reason of the SSP’s change. A sequential approach considering the oceanographic dynamics model into the state-space equation is developed and applied. Synthetic simulations are carried out with experimental SSP data and acoustic pressure data from a vertical line array. Result suggests the sequential approach based on oceanographic dynamics model can improve the tracking capabilities.