Time-dependent seafloor acoustic backscatter (10-100 kHz)

A time-dependent model of the acoustic intensity backscattered by the seafloor is described and compared with data from a calibrated, vertically oriented, echo-sounder operating at 33 and 93 kHz. The model incorporates the characteristics of the echo-sounder and transmitted pulse, and the water column spreading and absorption losses. Scattering from the water-sediment interface is predicted using Helmholtz-Kirchhoff theory, parametrized by the mean grain size, the coherent reflection coefficient, and the strength and exponent of a power-law roughness spectrum. The composite roughness approach of Jackson et al. [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 79, 1410-1422 (1986)], modified for the finite duration of the transmitted signal, is used to predict backscatter from subbottom inhomogeneities. It depends on the sediment's volume scattering and attenuation coefficients, as well as the interface characteristics governing sound transmission into the sediment. Estimation of model parameters (mean grain size, roughness spectrum strength and exponent, volume scattering coefficient) reveals ambiguous ranges for the two spectral components. Analyses of model outputs and of physical measurements reported in the literature yield practical constraints on roughness spectrum parameter settings appropriate for echo-envelope-based sediment classification procedures.     

Model-based seafloor characterization employing multi-beam angular backscatter data--a comparative study with dual-frequency single beam

Sediment geoacoustic inversion results are estimated employing a multi-beam (MB) echo-sounding system operable at 95 kHz. To characterize the western continental shelf of India (off Goa) seafloor, MB backscatter signals were acquired along with grab sediment samples. The substrate type and roughness of the site were estimated using the composite roughness scattering model with the measured backscatter values. The seafloor parameters, namely mean grain size (M(φ)); roughness spectrum strength (w(2)) and exponent (γ(2)); and sediment volume parameter (σ(2)), for coarse and fine grain sediments are estimated by employing the MB system. These parameters have also been estimated at two other frequencies (33 and 210 kHz) and are compared to the ground truth data to provide sufficient support in validating the model results and increasing the understanding of the shelf seafloor processes. Distinct interclass separations between the sediment provinces are evident from the estimated mean grain size M(φ) and water-sediment interface roughness w(2). The seafloor parameters for coarse and fine grain sediments derived from the 95 kHz MB data are consistent with the sediment sample data as well as with the inversion results obtained using backscatter data at 33 and 210 kHz from the same locations.     

Model-based sediment classification using single-beam echosounder signals

Acoustic remote sensing techniques for mapping sediment properties are of interest due to their low costs and high coverage. Model-based approaches directly couple the acoustic signals to sediment properties. Despite the limited coverage of the single-beam echosounder (SBES), it is widely used. Having available model-based SBES classification tools, therefore, is important. Here, two model-based approaches of different complexity are compared to investigate their practical applicability. The first approach is based on matching the echo envelope. It maximally exploits the information available in the signal but requires complex modeling and optimization. To minimize computational costs, the efficient differential evolution method is used. The second approach reduces the information of the signal to energy only and directly relates this to the reflection coefficient to obtain quantitative information about the sediment parameters. The first approach provides information over a variety of sediment types. In addition to sediment mean grain size, it also provides estimates for the spectral strength and volume scattering parameter. The need to account for all three parameters is demonstrated, justifying computational expenses. In the second approach, the lack of information on these parameters and the limited SBES beamwidth are demonstrated to hamper the conversion of echo energy to reflection coefficient.     

单波束测深仪沉积层地声反演底质分类

应用一种时域高频后向散射模型,对黄渤海41个站位的20 kHz单波束测深仪回波数据进行了沉积层地声参数反演底质分类研究。采用下山单行模拟退火算法(SIMPSA)对模型输出和接收回波的平均包络曲线进行最大似然匹配,估计海底沉积层的平均颗粒度。实验数据处理表明:对接收回波包络进行能量归一化处理有效地减小了由实验不确定性所导致的回波幅度异常起伏,将反演参数的方差降低至未加处理的50%;平均颗粒度的反演最优值与沉积层样本实验室测量值的一致性更高;将反演结果用于底质分类,正确识别率达到75.6%。      

The high-frequency backscattering angular response of gassy sediments: model/data comparison from the Eel River Margin,California

A model for the high-frequency backscatter angular response of gassy sediments is proposed. For the interface backscatter contribution we adopted the model developed by Jackson et al. [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 79, 1410-1422 (1986)], but added modifications to accommodate gas bubbles. The model parameters that are affected by gas content are the density ratio, the sound speed ratio, and the loss parameter. For the volume backscatter contribution we developed a model based on the presence and distribution of gas in the sediment. We treat the bubbles as individual discrete scatterers that sum to the total bubble contribution. This total bubble contribution is then added to the volume contribution of other scatters. The presence of gas affects both the interface and the volume contribution of the backscatter angular response in a complex way that is dependent on both grain size and water depth. The backscatter response of fine-grained gassy sediments is dominated by the volume contribution while that of coarser-grained gassy sediments is affected by both volume and interface contributions. In deep water the interface backscatter is only slightly affected by the presence of gas while the volume scattering is strongly affected. In shallow water the interface backscatter is severely reduced in the presence of gas while the volume backscatter is only slightly increased. Multibeam data acquired offshore northern California at 95 kHz provides raw measurements for the backscatter as a function of grazing angle. These raw backscatter measurements are then reduced to scattering strength for comparison with the results of the proposed model. The analysis of core samples at various locations provides local measurements of physical properties and gas content in the sediments that, when compared to the model, show general agreement.     

表面粗糙度对固体内部超声背散射的影响

超声背散射法可通过多晶体金属内部的空间方差信号,实现微观结构参数的无损评价,但表面粗糙度对评价模型的精度及实用性存在显著影响.基于高斯声束理论推导垂直入射粗糙界面的纵波声场,以此研究声能的Wigner分布规律;在超声的波长远大于粗糙度的前提下,构造表面粗糙度修正系数,并建立粗糙界面的单次散射响应模型,揭示粗糙度对超声波背向散射的影响规律.用304不锈钢制备轮廓均方根值为0.159μm的光滑试块和25.722μm的粗糙试块开展超声背散射实验,结果表明模型在粗糙度修正前后均可实现光滑试块的晶粒尺寸有效评价,但未经修正的传统模型对粗糙试块的晶粒尺寸评价结果与金相法结果的相对误差高达-21.35%,而本模型的评价结果与金相法结果符合得很好,相对误差仅为1.35%.可见,本模型能有效补偿粗糙度引起的超声背散射信号衰减,从而提高晶粒尺寸无损评价的精度.     

Spatial correlation analysis of sea-bottom backscattering

##正##The principle of the spatial correlation characteristics of sea-bottom backscattering was expounded.The Kirchhoff model is introduced to simulate sea-bottom backscattering and the spatial correlation is calculated.Some sediment characteristic parameters,such as the ratio of sediment mass density to water mass density,the ratio of sediment sound speed to water sound speed,the attenuation coefficient of sound waves,the strength and exponent of seabottom interface roughness spectrum,are considered while simulating and their influences on spatial correlation are analyzed.By establishing the expressions of the sediment characteristic parameters with the logarithmic sediment grain size,the variation tendency of the spatial correlation versus the logarithmic sediment grain size is obtained.The width of the major lobe of the spatial correlation function narrows as the logarithmic sediment grain size increases.The comparisons between simulated data and in-situ data collected in October 2007 have proven that their spatial correlation function waveforms agree well under the same sediment characteristics.     

海底回波空间相关特性研究

阐述了海底回波空间相关特性的基本原理,引入了Kirchhoff模型进行回波仿真并计算空间相关函数,分析了密度比、声速比、衰减系数、海底表面不平整性空间谱的谱系数和谱指数等底质参数对回波空间相关特性的影响。通过建立上述底质特性参数与沉积物平均粒径的φ值之间的表达式,得到了回波空间相关特性随沉积物平均粒径的变化趋势:随着φ值的增大,空间相关函数的主瓣宽度变窄。将仿真结果与2007年10月份采集的海试数据进行比较,发现在海底底质相同的情况下,二者的空间相关函数波形符合得较好。      

Mechanisms for subcritical penetration into a sandy bottom: experimental and modeling results

This paper presents preliminary results of a recent study whose overall objectives are to determine the mechanisms contributing significantly to subcritical acoustic penetration into ocean sediments, and to quantify the results for use in sonar performance prediction for the detection of buried objects. In situ acoustic measurements were performed on a sandy bottom whose geoacoustical and geomorphological properties were also measured. A parametric array mounted on a tower moving on a rail was used to insonify hydrophones located above and below the sediment interface. Data covering grazing angles both above and below the nominal critical angle and in the frequency range 2-15 kHz were acquired and processed. The results are compared to two models that account for scattering of sound at the rough water-sediment interface into the sediment. Although all possible mechanisms for subcritical penetration are not modeled, the levels predicted by both models are consistent with the levels observed in the experimental data. For the specific seafloor and experimental conditions examined, the analysis suggests that for frequencies below 5-7 kHz sound penetration into the sediment at subcritical insonification is dominated by the evanescent field, while scattering due to surface roughness is the dominant mechanism at higher frequencies.     

An equivalent roughness model for seabed backscattering at very high frequencies using a band-matrix approach

This work concerns modeling of very high frequency (>100 kHz) sonar images obtained from a sandy seabed. The seabed is divided into a discrete number of ID height profiles. For each height profile the backscattered pressure is computed by an integral equation method for interface scattering between two homogeneous media as formulated by Chan [IEEE Trans. Antennas Propag. 46, 142-149 (1998)]. However, the seabed is inhomogeneous, and volume scattering is a major contributor to backscattering. The SAX99 experiments revealed that the density in the unconsolidated sediment within the first 5 mm exhibits a high spatial variation. For that reason, additional roughness is introduced: For each surface point a stochastic realization of the density along the vertical is generated, and the sediment depth at which the density has its maximum value will constitute the new height field value. The matrix of the full integral equation is reduced to a band matrix as the interaction between the point sources on the seabed is neglected from a certain range; this allows computations on long height profiles with lengths up to approximately 25 m (at 300 kHz). The equivalent roughness approach, combined with the band-matrix approach, agrees with SAX99 data at 300 kHz.     

声波在水-含气沉积物界面的反射

含气泡海洋沉积物的声学特性是海底探测的重要问题。为了研究气泡存在对水-含气沉积物界面声反射系数的影响,本文基于气泡振动修正的Biot波动方程推导了气泡存在修正的Biot弹性模量,并结合水-沉积物界面的“开孔”边界条件推导了声波从水入射到水-含气沉积物界面的反射系数。数值分析表明气泡的振动导致反射系数呈现显著的频率特性。在气泡共振频率附近,由于气泡的共振引发的强散射和强衰减,使得反射系数很大,无论以何种角度入射,声波都很难进入含气泡的沉积物。本文研究结果表明,气泡半径、含量、声波频率以及入射角度都是影响水-含气沉积物界面反射系数的主要因素。      

海面冰层对声波的反射和散射特性

北极海面冰层复杂多变,其对声波的反射和散射严重影响冰下水声信道的传输特性,建立海面冰层的声波反射和散射模型对冰下水声通信研究具有重要意义.假设海面冰层为多层固体弹性介质且冰-水界面粗糙,满足微扰边界条件,导出声波从海水介质入射到海面冰层时相干反射系数满足的线性方程组.对相干反射系数随声波频率、掠射角、冰层厚度的变化进行数值分析.进一步引入根据散射声场功率谱密度计算散射系数的方法,改变掠射角,对冰层厚度、散射掠角对散射系数的影响进行研究.     

Small-slope simulation of acoustic backscatter from a physical model of an elastic ocean bottom

An underwater acoustic experiment with a two-dimensional rough interface, milled from a slab of PVC, was performed at a tank facility. The purpose was to verify the predictions of numerical models of acoustic rough surface scattering, using a manufactured physical model of an ocean bottom that featured shear effects, nonhomogeneous roughness statistics, and root-mean-square roughness amplitude on the order of the acoustic wavelength. Predictions of the received time series and interface scattering strength in the 100-300 kHz band were obtained from the Bottom Reverberation from Inhomogeneities and Surfaces-Small-Slope Approximation (BORIS-SSA) numerical scattering model. The predictions were made using direct measurements of scattering model inputs-specifically, the geoacoustic properties from laboratory analysis of material samples and the grid of surface heights from a touch-trigger probe. BORIS-SSA predictions for the amplitude of the received time series were shown to be accurate with a root-mean-square residual error of about 1 dB, while errors for the scattering strength prediction were higher (2-3.5 dB). The work is part of an ongoing effort to use physical models to examine a variety of acoustic scattering and propagation phenomena involving the ocean bottom.     

The effect of wind-generated bubbles on sea-surface backscattering at 940 Hz

Reliable predictions of sea-surface backscattering strength are required for sonar performance modeling. These are, however, difficult to obtain as measurements of sea-surface backscattering are not available at small grazing angles relevant to low-frequency active sonar (1-3 kHz). Accurate theoretical predictions of scattering strength require a good understanding of physical mechanisms giving rise to the scattering and the relative importance of these. In this paper, scattering from individual resonant bubbles is introduced as a potential mechanism and a scattering model is derived that incorporates the contribution from these together with that of rough surface scattering. The model results are fitted to Critical Sea Test (CST) measurements at a frequency of 940 Hz, treating the number of large bubbles, parameterized through the spectral slope of the size spectrum for bubbles whose radii exceed 1 mm, as a free parameter. This procedure illustrates that the CST data can be explained by scattering from a small number of large resonant bubbles, indicating that these provide an alternative mechanism to that of scattering from bubble clouds.     

Deep scattering layers in the northwestern pacific

The large-scale horizontal variability of deep scattering layers (DSL) in the Northwestern Pacific is analyzed. The analysis is based on long-term measurements of the column strength and the volume scattering coefficient for frequencies from 0.63 to 16 kHz. The depth and frequency dependences of the scattering coefficient are presented for different regions of the aforementioned ocean region. The most pronounced changes in the DSL structure are found to occur at the boundaries between large-scale water masses or seas with different hydrological characteristics. By contrast, within such water masses and seas, the depth-frequency structure of the DSL remains relatively stable.     

Acoustic Pulse Diffraction by a Sphere in a Planar Layered Waveguide with a Gradient Layer

Consideration of the vertical sound velocity profile is highly important for solving problems of sound propagation in waveguides and scattering problems. A pulsed echo signal reflected from a spherical scatterer in a waveguide is modeled for the case of a waveguide characterized by sound velocity increasing with depth. The simplest model of the medium is considered in which the scatterer, the source, and the receiver are positioned in a layer with constant sound velocity. Below this layer, the sound velocity increases with depth so that the square of refractive index varies according to linear law. The scattering coefficients for the sphere are calculated using the normal wave method. The number of normal waves forming the echo signal is determined by the preset directionality of the source. Modeling is performed in a frequency band of 70?90 kHz for distances between the scatterer and the transmitter-receiver within 500?1000 m. The transmitted signal has the form of a pulse with cosine envelope and central frequency of 80 kHz.     

Ultrasonic inspection of grain size in the materials for railway wheel sets

This work outlines the present theory of attenuation of the ultrasonic waves, particularly the theory of scattering, and describes the measurement of attenuation in metals. Experiments were carried out to measure the attenuation of samples with different grain size taken from materials for railway wheel sets; in these experiments the pulse echo method, with elimination of the effect of the reflexion factor, was applied. The article presents the relation between the overall attenuation coefficient and its scattering component, the grain size and frequency.

On the basis of our measurements and an analysis of the obtained results, two methods of evaluation of the structure of railway materials by ultrasonic inspection were derived.     

软X射线Mo/Si多层膜反射率拟合分析

由于多层膜的表界面粗糙度和材料之间的相互扩散等因素，导致多层膜的实际反射率小于理论计算的反射率，因此，多层膜结构参量的确定对镀膜工艺参量的标定具有重要意义。由于描述单个非理想粗糙界面散射的Stearns法适用于软X射线短波段区域，采用它的数学模型来描述软X射线多层膜的粗糙度，利用最小二乘法曲线拟合法对同步辐射测得的Mo／Si多层膜的反射率曲线进行拟合，得到了非常好的拟合结果，从而确定了多层膜结构参量，同时分析了多层膜周期厚度，厚度比率，界面宽度以及仪器光谱分辨率对多层膜反射特性的影响，这些工作都为镀膜工艺改进提供了一定的理论依据。