Low-frequency horizontal acoustic refraction caused by internal wave solitons in a shallow sea

The effect of internal wave solitons on the sound field generated by a point source in a shallow sea is considered. In the framework of the theory of “horizontal rays and vertical modes,” the sound field pattern governed by the aforementioned hydrodynamic effect is investigated. It is shown that solitons can induce time-periodic focusing and defocusing of horizontal rays propagating at shallow angles to the internal wave front. This may result in the formation of “dynamical” horizontal sound channels, which, in its turn, results in considerable temporal fluctuations of the field along the acoustic track oriented along the internal wave front. For the sound field calculations, an approach is developed on the basis of the parabolic approximation in the horizontal plane and the mode representation in the vertical direction. The results obtained can be used for remote monitoring of internal wave packets in a shallow sea.