Acoustic multipath arrivals in the horizontal plane due to approaching nonlinear internal waves

Simultaneous measurements of acoustic wave transmissions and a nonlinear internal wave packet approaching an along-shelf acoustic path during the Shallow Water 2006 experiment are reported. The incoming internal wave packet acts as a moving frontal layer reflecting (or refracting) sound in the horizontal plane. Received acoustic signals are filtered into acoustic normal mode arrivals. It is shown that a horizontal multipath interference is produced. This has previously been called a horizontal Lloyd's mirror. The interference between the direct path and the refracted path depends on the mode number and frequency of the acoustic signal. A mechanism for the multipath interference is shown. Preliminary modeling results of this dynamic interaction using vertical modes and horizontal parabolic equation models are in good agreement with the observed data.     

Intense Internal Waves and Their Manifestation in Interference Patterns of Received Signals on Oceanic Shelf

Processed data of SWARM-95 natural experiment on the New Jersey coast are reported. The experiment has been performed under conditions of perturbation of stationary path by intense internal waves, which led to horizontal refraction of acoustic waves. Separate source images, produced by direct and refracted acoustic fields, are obtained based on double Fourier transform of interference patterns. The interference patterns of the transfer functions of unperturbed waveguide and perturbation of the medium are recovered by filtering off the regions of source images in the spectrogram and applying double inverse Fourier transform to them.     

Phase and group velocities of fast and slow compressional waves in trabecular bone

This Letter is an extension to a multilayer model of porous bone first proposed by Hughes et al. [Ultrasound Med. Biol. 25, 811-821 (1999)]. Both slow and fast compressional waves propagate when the acoustic wave propagation is parallel to the trabecular alignment. However, a slow wave disappears at high refraction angles. To explain this phenomenon, the multilayer model is extended to compute group velocity surface and arrival times with an angle. Two major effects are highlighted as the refraction angle increases. First, the energy of the slow wave is refracted from the phase propagation direction. Second, the signals of fast and slow waves overlap. As a consequence, the slow wave may not be observed for a refraction angle greater than 40 degrees, which is in agreement with previous experimental data published by Hughes et al. and others.     

Measurement and modeling of three-dimensional sound intensity variations due to shallow-water internal waves

Broadband acoustic data (30-160 Hz) from the SWARM'95 experiment are analyzed to investigate acoustic signal variability in the presence of ocean internal waves. Temporal variations in the intensity of the received signals were observed over periods of 10 to 15 min. These fluctuations are synchronous in depth and are dependent upon the water column variability. They can be explained by significant horizontal refraction taking place when the orientation of the acoustic track is nearly parallel to the fronts of the internal waves. Analyses based on the equations of vertical modes and horizontal rays and on a parabolic equation in the horizontal plane are carried out and show interesting frequency-dependent behavior of the intensity. Good agreement is obtained between theoretical calculations and experimental data.     

深海海底山环境下声传播水平折射效应研究

声波在深海海底山环境中传播时,海底山会对声传播产生重要影响.2016年在南海深海进行了一次海底山环境下的声传播实验,观测到了由海底山引起的三维声传播效应,本文利用BELLHOP射线理论解释了海底山环境下的三维声传播机理.结果表明：声波在传播过程中与海底山作用后破坏了深海会聚区结构,导致传播损失增大,在海底山后形成具有明显边界的声水平折射区,利用二维声传播模型无法解释实验现象,海底山后声水平折射区实验测量的声场结构与N×2D模型计算结果存在明显差异,实验的传播损失比N×2D模型计算结果大10 dB.通过三维射线模型分析N×2D模型计算结果与实验结果存在明显差异产生的原因,发现由于声波水平折射作用,部分声线无法到达接收器,使得三维声传播效应对海底山后一定角度范围内声场影响较为明显.因此,深海海底山会引起明显的三维水平折射效应,应在水下目标探测和定位等应用中给予重视.     

声波水平折射引起水平位移椭圆极化和声能流水平偏转

针对矢量水听器测向的应用要求,研究了三维水声传播问题中水平折射对声矢量场特性的影响。理论分析表明,水平折射可使质点水平位移从线性极化转变为椭圆极化,同时引起声能流方向的水平偏转。声能流方向的水平偏转导致波达方向偏离目标水平方位,对目标水平方位估计造成误差。采用虚源法仿真了倾角为2.86°的楔形波导中的三维声矢量场,并给出了空间各点处由水平折射引起的单矢量水听器目标方位估计误差。结果显示,部分区域中由水平折射引起的目标方位估计误差可达10°以上。      

Determining tomographic arrival times based on matched filter processing: considering the impact of ocean waves

Reflection of high-frequency acoustic signals from an air-sea interface with waves is considered in terms of determining travel times for acoustic tomography. Wave-induced, multi-path rays are investigated to determine how they influence the assumption that the time of the largest matched filter magnitude between the source and receiver signals is the best estimate of the arrival time of the flat-surface specular ray path. A simple reflection model is developed to consider the impact of in-plane, multi-path arrivals on the signal detected by a receiver. It is found that the number of multi-path rays between a source and receiver increases significantly with the number of times the ray paths strike the ocean surface. In test cases, there was always one of the multi-path rays that closely followed the flat-surface specular ray path. But all the multi-path rays arrive at the receiver almost simultaneously, resulting in interference with the signal from the flat-surface specular ray path. As a result, multi-path arrivals due to open ocean surface waves often distort the received signal such that maxima of matched filtering magnitudes will not always be a reliable indicator of the arrival time of flat-surface specular ray paths.     

Three-dimensional coupled-mode model and characteristics of low-frequency sound propagation in ocean waveguide with seamount topography

Large-scale topography, such as a seamount, substantially impacts low-frequency sound propagation in an ocean waveguide, limiting the application of low-frequency acoustic detecting techniques. A three-dimensional (3D) coupled-mode model is developed to calculate the acoustic field in an ocean waveguide with seamount topography and analyze the 3D effect. In this model, a correction is introduced in the bottom boundary, theoretically making the acoustic field satisfy the energy conservation. Furthermore, a large azimuth angle calculation range is obtained by using the operator theory and higher-order Padé approximation. Additionally, the model has advantages related to the coupling mode and parabolic equation theory. The couplings corresponding to the effects of range-dependent environment are fully considered, and the numerical implementation is kept feasible. After verifying the accuracy and reliability of the model, low-frequency sound propagation characteristics in the seamount environment are analyzed. The results indicate lateral variability in bathymetry can lead to out-of-plane effects such as the horizontal refraction phenomenon, while the coupling effect tends to restore the abnormal sound field and produces acoustic field diffraction behind the seamount. This model effectively considers the effects of the horizontal refraction and coupling, which are proportional to the scale of the seamount.     

浅海波导中折射类简正波的warping变换

Warping变换可以实现单水听器浅海低频声波导的简正波分离.本文讨论了海水声速随深度线性减小浅海波导中折射类简正波的warping变换.理论推导了海水折射类简正波水平波数、频域相位及瞬时相位的表达式,由此提出了相应的时域和频域warping变换算子,并由仿真数据进行了验证.本文的理论推导过程同样适用于海水声速线性增大或海水折射系数的平方随深度线性变化的浅海波导.     

基于抛物方程的海陆环境信号时延与到达角估计

针对复杂海陆环境中的无线信号传播预测问题,研究了适用于抛物方程的信号时延与到达角估计方法。将自由空间中抛物方程轴向波前信号视为本地副本信号,然后利用信号的自相关特性,将接收信号与副本信号进行互相关运算,最后通过相关函数的峰值检索,得到脉冲信号在复杂环境中传播的附加时延。采用数值算例,验证了该方法的正确性和有效性。此外,采用多重信号分类算法,由抛物方程构建接收阵列的协方差矩阵,并对其进行特征值分解,然后利用信号子空间和噪声子空间的正交性,实现复杂环境中的信号到达角估计。仿真结果表明,相比于传统的平面波谱方法,该方法具有更高的多径分辨率。基于上述方法,并结合数字地图,在典型的海陆环境中进行了仿真实验,分析了蒸发波导对脉冲信号传播时延和到达角的影响。     

Horizontal refraction of sound rays due to short-period internal waves in the ocean

The effect of a short-period internal wave measured in field conditions on the horizontal (side) refraction of sound rays is estimated. The angle of horizontal refraction, i.e., the angle between the direction of the signal arrival in the horizontal plane and the true direction to the sound source, is determined. The influence of various factors, such as the position of the receiving system in depth with respect to the layer of high sound velocity gradients, the rotation of the transmitter-receiver track with respect to the internal wave front, etc., on the horizontal refraction is estimated. Numerical calculations are carried out. Conclusions about the possible errors that arise in determining the azimuth direction to the sound source because of the effect of short-period internal waves are derived.     

Bearing splitting and near-surface source ranging in the direct zone of deep water

Sound multipath propagation is very important for target localization and identification in different acoustical zones of deep water. In order to distinguish the multipath characteristics in deep water, the Northwest Pacific Acoustic Experiment was conducted in 2015. A low-frequency horizontal line array towed at the depth of around 150 m on a receiving ship was used to receive the noise radiated by the source ship. During this experiment, a bearing-splitting phenomenon in the direct zone was observed through conventional beamforming of the horizontal line array within the frequency band 160 Hz–360 Hz. In this paper, this phenomenon is explained based on ray theory. In principle, the received signal in the direct zone of deep water arrives from two general paths including a direct one and bottom bounced one, which vary considerably in arrival angles. The split bearings correspond to the contributions of these two paths. The bearing-splitting phenomenon is demonstrated by numerical simulations of the bearing-time records and experimental results, and they are well consistent with each other. Then a near-surface source ranging approach based on the arrival angles of direct path and bottom bounced path in the direct zone is presented as an application of bearing splitting and is verified by experimental results. Finally,the applicability of the proposed ranging approach for an underwater source within several hundred meters in depth in the direct zone is also analyzed and demonstrated by simulations.     

Turboprop and rotary-wing aircraft flight parameter estimation using both narrow-band and broadband passive acoustic signal-processing methods

Flight parameter estimation methods for an airborne acoustic source can be divided into two categories, depending on whether the narrow-band lines or the broadband component of the received signal spectrum is processed to estimate the flight parameters. This paper provides a common framework for the formulation and test of two flight parameter estimation methods: one narrow band, the other broadband. The performances of the two methods are evaluated by applying them to the same acoustic data set, which is recorded by a planar array of passive acoustic sensors during multiple transits of a turboprop fixed-wing aircraft and two types of rotary-wing aircraft. The narrow-band method, which is based on a kinematic model that assumes the source travels in a straight line at constant speed and altitude, requires time-frequency analysis of the acoustic signal received by a single sensor during each aircraft transit. The broadband method is based on the same kinematic model, but requires observing the temporal variation of the differential time of arrival of the acoustic signal at each pair of sensors that comprises the planar array. Generalized cross correlation of each pair of sensor outputs using a cross-spectral phase transform prefilter provides instantaneous estimates of the differential times of arrival of the signal as the acoustic wavefront traverses the array.     

Multipath pulse shapes in shallow water: theory and simulation

In shallow water propagation the steeper ray angles are weakened most by boundary losses. Regarding the sound intensity as a continuous function of angle it can be converted into a function of travel time to reveal the multipath pulse shape received from a remote source (one-way path) or a target (two-way path). The closed-form isovelocity pulse shape is extended here to the case of upward or downward refraction. The envelope of the earliest arrivals is roughly trapezoidal with a delayed peak corresponding to the slowest, near horizontal refracted paths. The tail of the pulse falls off exponentially (linearly in decibels) with a decay constant that depends only on the bottom reflection properties and water depth, irrespective of travel time, a useful property for geoacoustic inversion and for sonar design. The nontrivial analytical problem of inverting explicit functions of angle into explicit functions of time is solved by numerical interpolation. Thus exact solutions can be calculated numerically. Explicit closed-form approximations are given for one-way paths. Two-way paths are calculated by numerical convolution. Using the wave model C-SNAP in several broadband cases of interest it is demonstrated that these solutions correspond roughly to a depth average of multipath arrivals.     

利用海底反射信号进行地声参数反演的方法

针对现有反演方法的缺点,提出了一种基于海底反射信号的地声参数高分辨反演方法.它利用短距离声源在不同深度上发射宽带线性调频信号,采用垂直阵进行接收,首先通过匹配滤波方法提取多径到达信息,然后利用海底反射损失曲线,反演海底表层的声速和密度,最后利用浅底层反射信号估计沉积层参数.由于海水中直达波受到内波的强烈影响,选择海底表面反射作为参考,用以可靠地计算浅底层反射的相对到达时间和幅度,从而估计出沉积层的厚度、速度和衰减系数.通过海上实验,验证了利用浅底层反射信号反演参数的有效性. 关键词： 海底参数 反演 浅底层反射信号     

楔形海域中三维效应对声源距离估计的影响分析*

楔形海域中声传播会出现显著的三维效应,导致水平方向上特定接收位置的声信号出现模态多次到达或者模态影区。利用射线模型,首先对楔形波导中的传播损失进行计算,分析三维效应的存在对于声波传播的影响, 结果表明,随着距离的增加,水平折射效应愈加明显,所得的三维结果与利用二维模型计算所得相差逐渐增大。然后对比二维声场和三维声场中的接收波形,并对其进行模态分离,证明在某些接收位置将会出现明显的模态多次到达或模态影区。最后通过匹配全波解以及分离出的各号简正波所对应的脉冲波形进行声源距离估计研究,并分析三维效应对于声源距离估计结果的影响。结果表明,由于三维效应的存在,使用三维模型能够得到准确估计声源距离,而利用二维模型进行估计得到的结果与实际距离相差较多,总体上偏大。     

Acoustic effects caused by high-intensity internal waves in a shelf zone

The sound field fluctuations caused by high-intensity, solitonlike, quasi-plane internal waves crossing a fixed acoustic path at different angles are numerically modeled for natural conditions of the shelf zone of the Sea of Japan. The horizontal refraction of sound is considered for the case of an acoustic path parallel to the internal wave front.     

Three-dimensional localization of sperm whales using a single hydrophone

A three-dimensional localization method for tracking sperm whales with as few as one sensor is demonstrated. Based on ray-trace acoustic propagation modeling, the technique exploits multipath arrival information from recorded sperm whale clicks and can account for waveguide propagation physics like interaction with range-dependent bathymetry and ray refraction. It also does not require ray identification (i.e., direct, surface reflected) while utilizing individual ray arrival information, simplifying automation efforts. The algorithm compares the arrival pattern from a sperm whale click to range-, depth-, and azimuth-dependent modeled arrival patterns in order to estimate whale location. With sufficient knowledge of azimuthally dependent bathymetry, a three-dimensional track of whale motion can be obtained using data from a single hydrophone. Tracking is demonstrated using data from acoustic recorders attached to fishing anchor lines off southeast Alaska as part of efforts to study sperm whale depredation of fishing operations. Several tracks of whale activity using real data from one or two hydrophones have been created, and three are provided to demonstrate the method, including one simultaneous visual and acoustic localization of a sperm whale actively clicking while surfaced. The tracks also suggest that whales' foraging is shallower in the presence of a longline haul than without.     

单声阵列的低空目标轨迹估计方法

针对低空飞行目标轨迹估计问题,提出了一种单传声器阵列的目标运动轨迹估计方法。该方法利用窄带信号的多普勒效应估计出匀速直线运动目标飞行参数,结合波达方向估计计算目标的轨迹方向、水平偏置和高度,依据几何模型确定其运动轨迹,并对信号传播时延造成的估计误差进行修正。仿真和实验结果验证了算法有效性,实现了小孔径单声阵列对目标轨迹的估计。      

The determination of electron density profiles from refraction measurements obtained using holographic interferometry

The angles a fourth-harmonic holographic interferometer probing beam is refracted upon passing through a neodymium laser-produced plasma have been measured by varying the focus during reconstruction of the hologram. A method (not requiring the numerical inversion of an integral equation) for using such refraction measurements to give the plasma electron density profile is shown to produce a profile in agreement with that obtained from the phase information on the reconstructed in-focus interferogram.