Wavefront modeling of scattering from surface waves

Abstract

The scattering of sound from any particular smooth realization of ocean surface waves can be calculated using wavefront modeling. The method uses ray tracing to locate the wavefronts and stationary phase analysis to determine the phase and amplitude of the sound field. Waveforms due to reflection of short pulses can be found directly and compare well with experimental results. Reflection at a curved surface leads to foci and caustics and the field is determined numerically from Pearcey and Airy functions, respectively. The method uses the time domain and is fast and accurate. [Work supported by ONR.]