Wave reflection from a sediment layer with depth-dependent properties

Abstract

The prediction of reflection coefficients for the water-sediment interface is strongly influenced by the physical nature of the sediment (a viscoelastic porous material saturated by a liquid) and the depth dependence of the mechanical properties [E. L. Hamilton, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 68, 1313–1340 (1980)]. An efficient computational scheme for calculating reflection coefficients has been developed for a sediment layer using the Biot equations with depth-dependent coefficients. The qualitative effects of the inhomogeneous sediment properties (in comparison with uniform properties) are studied numerically. [Work supported by the Office of Naval Research.]