Influence of Anisotropic Wind Waves on the Efficiency of Spatial Processing of Acoustic Signals in Shallow Water

The authors investigate the effect of anisotropy of the frequency-angular spectrum of wind waves on the efficiency of spatial processing signals received by a horizontal array in a shallow water waveguide with a rough surface. The array gain is analyzed for three array signal processors: conventional beamformer, optimal linear processor, and optimal quadratic processor. The numerical simulation results for the hydrological conditions typical of the Barents Sea in winter are presented. The main focus is on the dependence of the array gain on the distance to the source and wind direction with respect to the acoustic path. Simulation results for the anisotropic wind wave spectrum and a simplified model with an isotropic spectrum are also compared.