Vertical Directionality of Ambient Noise in the Ocean

Abstract

Measurements have been made of the vertically directional distributions of ambient noise in the deep ocean in the frequency range 200–1500 cps. The measurement equipment consisted of an experimental 300-ft vertical linear array of 40 hydrophones several hundred feet above the ocean bottom, at a depth of about 15 000 feet. Results are based on average levels received on the beams of the array steered from horizontal to vertical and on levels measured with omnidirectional hydrophones. The effects of local weather conditions on the vertical noise distributions are discussed. [This work was supported by the Bureau of Ships, U. S. Navy.]