Acoustic mapping of the ocean bottom and requirements of the initial data

The amount and degree of detail of the initial information are analyzed as applied to the new method of ocean bottom mapping on the basis of the fine structure of the bottom-reflected sound field at normal incidence. For the mapping data obtained with a planar multielement receiving array, the distortions caused by insufficiently detailed information derived from discrete measurements of the bottom-reflected amplitude are considered. The relations between the number of receivers, the receiver spacing, the array aperture, and the horizontal correlation length of the sound field are determined. The problem is solved by computer simulation with the use of generalized quantitative data obtained in deep-water ocean experiments.