Characteristic features of the sound field formation near the bottom of a shallow sea

Detailed calculated data are presented for the angular, temporal, and energy structures of the sound field at the points of localtion of a horizontal line array of receivers (at 250-m intervals) in a shallow sea. The array is deployed near the bottom of a 200-m-deep waveguide along a sound propagation track, at distances from 20 to 30 km from a source generating a signal in the kilohertz frequency range. The influence of a sand or mud bottom on the intensity of signals arriving along single rays is numerically estimated for winter and summer conditions of sound propagation in a specific region of the Barents Sea.     

Atmospheric effects on voice command intelligibility from acoustic hail and warning devices

Voice command sound pressure levels (SPLs) were recorded at distances up to 1500 m. Received SPLs were related to the meteorological condition during sound propagation and compared with the outdoor sound propagation standard ISO 9613-2. Intelligibility of received signals was calculated using ANSI S3.5. Intelligibility results for the present voice command indicate that meteorological condition imposes little to no effect on intelligibility when the signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) is low (<-9 dB) or high (>0 dB). In these two cases the signal is firmly unintelligible or intelligible, respectively. However, at moderate SNRs, variations in received SPL can cause a fully intelligible voice command to become unintelligible, depending on the meteorological condition along the sound propagation path. These changes in voice command intelligibility often occur on time scales as short as minutes during upward refracting conditions, typically found above ground during the day or upwind of a sound source. Reliably predicting the intelligibility of a voice command in a moderate SNR environment can be challenging due to the inherent variability imposed by sound propagation through the atmosphere.     

Correlation of underwater acoustic signals simultaneously received by omnidirectional and directional means

A comparison of experimental data on the spatial correlation between acoustic signals simultaneously received by an omnidirectional hydrophone and a directional vertical array is carried out. The spatial correlation was measured between the signals received at different distances in a deep ocean. The points of reception were positioned in two convergence zones along the path of sound propagation with a point-to-point distance of about 64 km. Pseudonoise signals were emitted in the frequency range (0.8–2.0) kHz and received by a vertical array, whose beam had a width of ∼2°. Concurrently, multipath signals received with the central hydrophone of the array were recorded. Signals in the first and second convergence zones were received at different times. Nevertheless, in the case of the directional reception, the coefficients of spatial correlation between such signals appeared to be as high as 0.64–0.74 even under the conditions of incomplete resolution of signals in the angle of arrival in the vertical plane. At the same time, in the case of omnidirectional reception, the coefficients of spatial correlation were below 0.32.     

Effect of internal tides on slow energy fluctuations of impulse signals in an experiment on a long-distance stationary path

Temporal energy fluctuations of impuse signals generated by powerful explosive sources of sound are considered by using the experimental data obtained on a long-distance stationary path in the northwestern Pacific. The signals were received on the Kamchatka shelf (a characteristic ocean depth of about 200 m) at two points spaced by 115 km in the latitudinal direction, one of the reception points being located on the shelf far from its edge, and the other, on the shelf edge. The signal radiation was performed in the deep ocean, at a distance of about 1000 km from the shelf edge. Charges were exploded every hour for more than five days. The frequency-dependent energy fluctuations of the signals and those of the first mode alone were measured in the frequency range 10–80 Hz. It is shown that the amplitudes of energy fluctuations of the first mode in narrow bands can exceed 10 dB and make the main contribution to the energy fluctuations of the total signal. The maximum energy of the first mode is reached on the high tide. It is hypothesized that internal tide-induced variations of the sound velocity field on the shelf affect the degree of energy interaction between the first mode and the bottom.     

南中国海存在孤立子内波条件下的声场时间相关半径

在动态的海洋环境中,由于数据向量和拷贝场之间的失配,匹配场处理器的性能会发生退化。数据向量的时间相关半径是这种退化的一种量度。通过2001年ASIAEX南海实验中垂直阵上水听器接收到的声场数据求取了400 Hz窄带信号的声场时间相关。从实验数据处理结果观察到,伴随着传播路径上非线性内波的进入,声场的时间相关半径减小。同时利用一个二维的平流冻结海洋模型和传播路径上三个温度链的温度数据对声场进行了数值仿真,分析了不同频率下的声场时间相关半径。结果表明:实验结果与仿真的400 Hz信号的声场时间相关较为一致。可见,在时变的海洋环境下,声信道中存在孤立子内波将会使声场的时间相关半径大大缩短。      

Blind dereverberation in the deep sea

Experimental data are presented on the blind dereverberation of the noise-type signal generated by a sound source moving in the deep sea. The noise emitted by a towed source is received by a drifting hydrophone with a high excess of the signal over the ambient noise, which results in a stable interference pattern of high contrast. The observed interference structure indicates that the signal arrives at the receiver along different paths. With the use of the blind dereverberation technique for the signal processing and without any a priori information on the properties of the propagation channel, the parameters (the delay, the amplitude, and the phase) of each of the seven interfering signals are determined. From the data obtained, the frequency response of the filter that provides a strong suppression of the reverberation is calculated and the spectrum of the received signal is obtained without any interference distortions.     

Experimental studies of pulsed signal propagation from the shelf to deep sea

Results of an experimental study of low-frequency broadband pulsed signal propagation in a waveguide that includes the shelf zone, the continental slope, and the deep sea region are presented. Using phase-manipulated signals with central frequencies of 366 and 600 Hz, pulsed characteristics are measured at six points along the propagation track, the maximal distance from the source being 368 km. It is experimentally demonstrated that, in the presence of a negative sound velocity gradient in the near bottom layer on the shelf with a small bottom slope, the choice of the source position at the shelf bottom near the shoreline provides the formation of a continuous illumination zone in the deep sea near the USC axis and a stable pulsed characteristic with two main sound energy arrivals. The propagation velocity of the pulse that is last to arrive is identical (within the measurement error) to the velocity of sound on the USC axis at the point of reception. Possibilities for practical application of the results obtained from the experiment are discussed.     

Rainforests as concert halls for birds: are reverberations improving sound transmission of long song elements?

In forests reverberations have probably detrimental and beneficial effects on avian communication. They constrain signal discrimination by masking fast repetitive sounds and they improve signal detection by elongating sounds. This ambivalence of reflections for animal signals in forests is similar to the influence of reverberations on speech or music in indoor sound transmission. Since comparisons of sound fields of forests and concert halls have demonstrated that reflections can contribute in both environments a considerable part to the energy of a received sound, it is here assumed that reverberations enforce also birdsong in forests. Song elements have to be long enough to be superimposed by reflections and therefore longer signals should be louder than shorter ones. An analysis of the influence of signal length on pure tones and on song elements of two sympatric rainforest thrush species demonstrates that longer sounds are less attenuated. The results indicate that higher sound pressure level is caused by superimposing reflections. It is suggested that this beneficial effect of reverberations explains interspecific birdsong differences in element length. Transmission paths with stronger reverberations in relation to direct sound should favor the use of longer signals for better propagation.     

Correlation processing of a noise signal in the arrival-time acoustic monitoring of the water medium in an arctic waveguide

The propagation of a noise signal is considered for an arctic-type waveguide with a varying sound speed profile. The profiles used in the calculations differ from each other due to different depth dependences of salinity. The shape of the envelope of the time correlation function is studied for the coherent and reference signals. For the latter, either the replica of the transmitted noise signal or one of the modes propagating in the waveguide is used. A characteristic feature of the proposed technique is the use of the time cross-correlation between the signals that traveled through the same path in the presence of different sound speed profiles. In this case, from the shape of the envelope of the signal correlation function, one can estimate the changes that occur in the sound speed profile on the path of signal propagation.     

Long-range sound propagation in the northwestern region of the Pacific Ocean

Results of two experiments on long-range propagation of explosion-generated signals in the northwestern Pacific are analyzed. The propagation paths used in the two experiments substantially differ in both their hydrological characteristics and the conditions of signal reception. On the first path, the omnidirectional reception of explosion-generated signals is performed on the coastal shelf. The initial part of the 850-km-long path crosses the cold Kamchatka current and the continental slope. On the second path, the signals are received near the coastline of the Simushir island with a sea depth of more than 2000 m. The path crosses the Kuril-Kamchatka trough and the frontal zone formed at the boundary between the cold Kuril-Kamchatka current and the warm Kuroshio current. The intensity characteristics of the sound fields on the paths, the time structure of the signals, and the phenomena that arise when the path crosses the continental slope and the frontal zone are considered. The results obtained from analyzing the experimental data are compared with computer calculations.     

Peculiarities in the formation of the sound field structure of a point source in the Black Sea underwater sound channel

This paper studies unique (characteristic only of the Black Sea) peculiarities of the underwater sound channel (USC). Changes in the sound velocity of at depths of 50–250 m, forming the lower boundary of the Black Sea USC, differ fundamentally from the corresponding areas of the profile c(z) in other regions of the world ocean. With lowering from 40–50 m (by 5–10 m lower than the level of the channel axis) to 200–250 m, the sound velocity gradient decreases monotonically from 0.08–0.22 to 0.02 1/s (and does not increase like in the majority of regions of the world ocean). The end portion of an explosion signal received in the Black Sea USC at a distance of 200 km or more from the source represents a quasi-harmonic signal with a gradually changing frequency. Moreover, the end portion of the signal has an explicitly block structure, which agrees well with the block structure of the spectrum of an explosion signal element. In the truncated τ(R) diagram, there is no sharp bend characteristic of the majority of regions of the world ocean. At comparatively small depths of the Black Sea, a sufficiently rapid increase in the complete duration of a multiray signal with distance is observed. A comparative analysis is conducted of experimental materials obtained with a difference of seven years on virtually the same long-range propagation path of explosion signals. The main reasons for the interannual variability in the conditions of sound channel propagation in the Black Sea are explained.     

Measurement of the sound velocity in fluids using the echo signals from scattering particles

With conventional methods the sound velocity c in fluids can be determined using the back wall echo. This paper proposes a novel technique, in which the signals reflected by scattering particles suspended in a fluid are analysed instead. The basic idea is that the particles generate the strongest echo signal when being located in the sound field maximum. Therefore the position of the echo signal maximum is a measure for the propagation time to the sound field maximum. Provided that calibration data or sound field simulations for the ultrasonic transducer are available, this propagation time suffices to determine both sound velocity and the location of the sound field maximum. The feasibility of the new approach is demonstrated by different kinds of experiments: (i) Measurements of the sound velocity c in four fluids covering the wide range between 1116 and 2740 m/s. The results show good agreement with values published elsewhere. (ii) Using the dependence of the sound velocity on temperature, it is possible to vary c over the comparatively small range between 1431 and 1555 m/s with increments of less than 10 m/s. The measured statistical variation of 1.4 m/s corresponds to a relative uncertainty not worse than 0.1%. (iii) The focus position, i.e. the distance of the maximum of the sound field from the transducer, was varied by time-shifted superposition of the receive signals belonging to the different elements of an annular array. The results indicate that the novel method is even capable of measuring profiles of the sound velocity along the ultrasonic beam non-invasively.     

Long-range sound propagation in the region of the subarctic front

The data of two experiments performed in the northwestern Pacific are presented. The propagation path crosses the northern boundary of the subarctic frontal zone. The influence of the frontal zone on the time structure and intensity of the sound field is studied. This influence most clearly manifests itself in the range dependence of the level of the normalized sound field at frequencies of 63–800 Hz. In the region of crossing the boundary of the frontal zone, a change of 1.5–2 dB in the sound field level is observed with localization in distance. In this region, a pronounced increase in the frequency-independent component of the exponential attenuation is also observed (by 0.015 dB/km for explosion-generated signals received at a depth of 600 m). At depths of 150–800 m, a zone of weak variations of the propagation loss is present in the vertical structure of the sound field at the 100-km part of the path in the region of crossing the front. In the experiment with explosion-generated signals, phenomena that are unrelated to the frontal zone are observed as well, namely, the appearance of reverberation forerunners (prereverberation) on separate parts of the path and the presence of bottom-reflected signals on one of the path fractions with a local bottom rise.     

Long-range sound propagation in the northeastern Atlantic

Experimental data on the long-range propagation of explosion-generated signals are analyzed. The experiments were performed in the northeastern Atlantic under the conditions of a two-axis underwater sound channel. The sound field in the upper channel was governed by the vertical redistribution of the ray structure and sound energy under the influence of a smooth increase in the depth of the channel’s axis along the propagation path. The explosions were produced in the upper sound channel at a depth of 200 m, which was constant along the path. The time structure of the sound field is analyzed for the upper channel (a reception depth of 200 m) and for deeper layers lying somewhat below the boundary between the upper and lower sound channels (a reception depth of 1200 m). The deviation of the decay law obtained for the sound field level in the upper channel from the cylindrical law is used to estimate the attenuation coefficient. The low-frequency (several hundreds of hertz) attenuation coefficients experimentally determined with allowance for the sound field redistribution agree well with the calculated sound absorption in seawater. The attenuation coefficients determined by the differential method also agree well with the absorption calculated by the formulas proposed earlier. The analysis of the time structure of the sound field near the boundary between the upper and lower channels reveals a permanent insonification of this horizon by weak water-path signals propagating with the velocity typical of the signals traveling in the upper channel.     

Temporal coherence of acoustic signals in a fluctuating ocean

Temporal coherence of acoustic signals propagating in a fluctuating ocean is important for many practical applications and has been studied intensively experimentally. However, only a few theoretical formulations of temporal coherence exist. In the present paper, a three-dimensional (3D) modal theory of sound propagation in a fluctuating ocean is used to derive closed-form equations for the spatial-temporal coherence function of a broadband signal. The theory is applied to the analysis of the temporal coherence of a monochromatic signal propagating in an ocean perturbed by linear internal waves obeying the Garrett-Munk (G-M) spectral model. In particular, the temporal coherence function is calculated for propagation ranges up to 10(4) km and for five sound frequencies: 12, 25, 50, 75, and 100 Hz. Then, the dependence of the coherence time (i.e., the value of the time lag at which the temporal coherence decreases by a factor of e) on range and frequency is studied. The results obtained are compared with experimental data and predictions of the path-integral theory.     

Long-range sound propagation in the shallow-water part of the Sea of Okhotsk

Experimental data on the long-range propagation of explosion-generated sound signals in the shallow-water northern part of the Sea of Okhotsk are analyzed. The propagation conditions in this region are characterized by a fully-developed underwater sound channel that captures the rays crossing the channel axis at angles lower than 3°. The experimental data reveal a small increase in the duration of the sound signal in proportion to the range with the proportionality factor lower than 0.00025 s/km. The frequency dependence of attenuation exhibits a pronounced minimum whose position on the frequency axis is close to the critical frequency of the first “water” mode (about 160 Hz). The increase in the attenuation coefficient at lower frequencies is confirmed by the field calculations performed with the wave-field computer code and is explained by the sound energy loss in the bottom sediments. At frequencies higher than 200 Hz, as in the Baltic Sea, the most probable reason for the attenuation to exceed the absorption in sea water is sound scattering by internal waves.     

Transmission of complex sound signals in the human respiratory system as a function of sound velocity in the utilized gas mixture

The previously revealed effect of the simultaneous existence of two sound transmission paths in human lungs is confirmed on an expanded sampling of 25 people for three different types of sounding signals during respiration of three gas mixtures. The obtained dependences of sounding signal arrival times above the trachea and the lower right zone of the lungs on sound velocity in the respiratory gas mixture filling human lungs have made it possible to link the first of these paths to partial sound propagation over lumens of respiratory ways (air-structural mechanism), and the second, to sound propagation over lung tissue (structural mechanism). We have evaluated the length of the sound propagation path along the lung parenchyma for the part of the sounding signal transmitted to the lower right zone of the lungs via the air-structural mechanism; this length during respiration is within the limits of 3.6–2.0 cm.     

一种低声速沉积层海底参数声学反演方法

软泥底环境下沉积层参数的声学反演是国际水声领域的一个研究热点.浅海中,当高声速基底和海水之间存在一层低声速(小于海水声速)的沉积层时,小掠射角情况下不同频率声传播损失会出现周期性增大现象.基于此现象,提出一种适用于低声速沉积层的海底参数声学反演方法.首先,推导给出小掠射角情况下传播损失周期增大的频率间隔与沉积层声速、厚度及近海底海水声速之间的解析表达式;其次,利用一次黄海实验中软泥底环境下的宽带声传播信号,提取了小掠射角下传播损失增大的频率周期;再次,把该解析表达式作为约束条件,结合Hamilton密度与声速的经验公式,采用匹配场处理反演给出沉积层的声速、密度、厚度及基底的声速、密度;然后,利用声传播损失数据反演得到泥底环境下不同频率的声衰减系数,通过拟合发现泥底声衰减系数随频率近似呈线性关系;最后,给出了双层海底模型和半无限大海底模型等效性的讨论.反演结果为低声速沉积层海底声传播规律研究与应用提供了海底声学参数.     

Experimental analysis on air-to-water sound transmission loss in shallow water

The research of propagation characteristics of air-to-water sound transmission is of great importance to the detection of aerial targets from underwater.In order to study the propagation characteristics of air-to-water sound transmission in shallow water,State Key Laboratory of Acoustics,Institute of Acoustics,conducted an experiment in the South China Sea in March,2013.During the experiment,multi-frequency signals transmitted by a hooter hung on a research ship were received by an underwater hydrophone,and the distance between the hooter and the hydrophone was from 2.4 km to 9.8 km approximately.Through analyzing experimental data in this work,the experimental air-to-water transmission loss at frequencies128 Hz and 256 Hz is estimated up to 9.8 km in range,and its oscillation structure is evident.The wave-number integration approach is used to simulate theoretical air-to-water transmission losses,which are in good agreement with experimental values and to explain the experimental air-to-water sound transmission characteristics.     

Sound field structure produced by tone sources in the Kurile-Kamchatka region of the Pacific Ocean with a surface channel and wind waves

Results of the experimental studies of sound signal propagation in the continental wedge of the northwestern Pacific, near the eastern coast of the Kamchatka Peninsula, are presented. The signals are produced by highly stable tone sources. The experiments are carried out in winter, in the presence of a strong surface sound channel and intense wind waves, at frequencies of 100, 230, and 400 Hz, on a 1000-km-long path. The signal transmission is performed by continuously towing the sound sources at a depth of 50±5 m with a speed of 4.5–5 knots, for 115 hours. The decay of the sound field level with distance is studied as a function of the sea state and the frequency. The results of the experiments, including the sound field decay along the path, are compared with the calculations for different sea states.