Three‐dimensional rough interface scattering of ambient noise

Abstract

Based on the previously developed theory of perturbation approach to rough surface scattering [W. A. Kuperman and Henrik Schmidt, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 86, 1511–1522 (1989)] and a model for the noise field generated by surface random sources in an occean waveguide [W. A. Kuperman and F. Ingenito, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 67, 1988–1996 (1980)], a formulation for rough interface scattering of surface‐generated ambient noise in a horizontally stratified ocean is established. The result is then applied to study the three‐dimensional scattering in a shallow‐water waveguide environment bounded below by a viscoelastic medium. The three‐dimensional spatial correlation of the reverberated noise in the waveguide and the scattered noise in the elastic medium are examined in terms of the relation to frequency, water depth, and rough interface statistics. It is demonstrated that even in deep water, the scattering of surface generated noise into interface waves (Scholte waves) is important, showing these waves carriers of amb...