冬季冲绳海域地形及黑潮对声传播的影响

冲绳海域地形复杂且冬季存在较强的黑潮海洋锋,利用数值实验研究斜坡地形和海洋锋同时存在时由浅海至深海的声传播特性。海洋模式数值预报环境数据表明,分布于冲绳海槽斜坡上方的海洋锋导致该海域上层水体声速存在水平变化,纬度越高,水平变化越大。利用抛物方程声场模型计算声传播损失,通过简正模态分析存在表面声道的环境中声能量分布,利用声线轨迹图解释海底斜坡和海洋锋对声传播的影响。结果表明:声源频率低于表面声道截止频率时,声传播主要受海底地形影响;声源频率高于表面声道截止频率时,位于表面声道内的声源激发的声能量主要在表面声道传播,部分声能量从表面声道泄漏沿斜坡向深海传播,位于表面声道深度以下的声源激发的声能量主要沿斜坡向深海传播,斜坡地形导致表面声道下方至共轭深度这一深度范围呈现为声影区,海洋锋的存在可导致表面声道传播损失变化明显,影响程度与声源深度有关。     

涌浪条件下的浅海表面声道脉冲声传播*

在冬季,海水表面受到海面强风的影响,普遍存在表面声道。当声源位于表面声道中并且声源频率高于表面声道的截止频率时,声能量几乎被完全限制其中,不与海底作用,十分有利于声传播。但当表面声道上边界为较大涌浪所形成的粗糙界面时,这种优良性能会被破坏。在南海北部陆坡海区的一次冬季实验中,发现表面声道以下水听器接收到的首个脉冲的幅度明显增加,通过研究表明,其原因是：存在较大涌浪时,部分表面声道内传播的声能量,经粗糙海面反射作用后进入下层水体中,使得位于表面声道以下的水听器的第一个到达的脉冲幅度增强。     

陆架斜坡海域上坡波导环境中声能量急剧下降现象及其定量分析

深度较浅的声源其辐射声波在陆架斜坡海域上坡传播时,在斜坡顶端会出现声能量急剧下降现象.利用射线声学模型分析了造成这一现象的原因,并根据抛物方程声场模型计算的深海和浅海平均传播损失定义了"声能量急剧下降距离",定量分析了声源位置对该现象的影响.结果表明:声源深度对"声能量急剧下降距离"影响较大,而声源与斜坡底端水平距离对其影响较小;当声源深度变大时,部分掠射角较小的声线最终能够达到斜坡顶端,致使"声能量急剧下降距离"增大,继续增加声源深度,将导致上坡声能量急剧下降现象消失.利用抛物方程声场模型对陆架斜坡海域上坡声传播进行数值仿真,结合"声能量急剧下降距离"的定义,计算并比较了声源位置不同时该距离的变化,数值计算结果验证了理论分析.     

会聚区的水平偏移特性及其临界频率分析

利用数值模型研究了完整深海声道中会聚区的水平偏移特性,根据折射定律和Lloyd镜效应推导了会聚区发生水平偏移时临界频率的表达式。研究结果表明:当声波频率低于临界频率时,会聚区的主导模态与频率相关,随着声波频率减小会聚区会向靠近声源的方向水平移动,同时传播损失明显增大,当声波频率大于临界频率时,会聚区的主导模态近似与频率无关,会聚区的位置和传播损失大小不会随频率改变而发生明显变化,声源深度不同时,临界频率也不同。通过临界频率可以确定在特定声源深度下,会聚区发生水平偏移时需要满足的频率条件,利用临界频率与声源深度之间的关系,可以被动估计深海浅层目标的深度。      

大陆坡内波环境中声传播模态耦合及强度起伏特征

大陆坡海域内波普遍存在,其陆坡地形和内波过程都会引起显著的声场起伏.已有研究工作主要关注内波或大陆坡单扰动因子对模态耦合和强度起伏的影响,少见将内波和海底地形起伏同时作为影响因子进行研究.文章考虑孤立子内波和海底地形对声传播的双重影响,首先构建海洋波导模型,然后基于简正波理论数值对比分析各波导模型条件下模态的耦合规律,进而研究声场强度起伏特性及其物理机理.研究结果表明,当声波朝向或远离内波中心传播时,模态耦合在内波与大陆坡的共同作用下出现耦合增强或衰减,高号模态耦合系数振荡;内波扰动的作用使得能量由低号模态耦合至高号模态,提高了声场强度衰减;斜坡的作用使得声波下坡传播时,波导模态数增加、模态强度衰减降低;大陆坡内波环境中的模态强度总和大于内波环境、小于大陆坡环境,且模态组间的能量转移比只有内波或者大陆坡时更强,高号模态从耦合中获得更多能量,使得跃层以上水层能量增强.     

深海大深度声传播特性及直达声区水下声源距离估计

深海大深度声传播特性对在深海近海底进行水声目标探测和定位具有重要意义。利用一次南海中南部深海不完全声道中的脉冲声传播实验数据,分析了海底附近大深度声传播损失及脉冲多途传播特性,并根据直达波和海底-海面反射波的时延差与收发距离的关系,提出一种利用深海直达声区脉冲多途到达时间进行水下声源距离估计的方法。结果表明:当接收器深度位于南海深海海底附近而声源深度较浅时,直达声区水平宽度可达30 km,传播损失相对影区来说较小,有利于水下声源探测;直达声区的直达波与海底-海面反射波的到达时延差随着收发距离的增大单调减小,可被用于水下声源距离估计。得到水下声源的距离估计结果与实验GPS测量结果较为一致,距离估计均方误差为0.28 km。      

声速剖面对深海远程声脉冲结构的影响

利用东印度洋和南海海域进行的深海远程声传播实验数据,比较分析了声道轴附近深度发射的声信号在两个海域不同声速剖面结构下的远程传播损失和脉冲时间到达结构。通过对比观测发现,两海域的深海声传播损失特性存在一定的差异,声脉冲时间到达结构差异性显著。首先,在东印度洋实验中观测到潜标垂直阵同一接收距离上,靠近声道轴传播的声能量较大,且声道轴附近声速较小但沿其传播的声信号却最先到达,而偏离声道轴传播的声信号延后到达,在整个接收深度上呈现出声道轴附近接收波形早于其他深度到达的分支结构,这与南海典型深海环境下的脉冲时间到达结构存在显著差异。其次,结合深海声道的参数化数学模型,分析了声速剖面对远程脉冲传播时间到达结构的影响机理,并理论解释了两个海域实验中观测到的脉冲声信号时间到达结构现象,其形成原因在于深海声道中决定声速剖面结构的声道轴系列参数的差异。该研究结果对通信声呐在不同海域深海远程环境下的应用具有一定的参考意义。     

深海不完整声道下反转点会聚区研究

近期南海远程声传播实验数据的处理分析表明在深海不完整声道中声道轴以下存在一种会聚区,该会聚区相比于海面附近的上反转点会聚区在远距离处具有更高的会聚增益.本文利用射线简正波理论确定了水中反转型焦散线和海面反射型焦散线位置,对比发现实验中观测到的深海大深度会聚区位置与水中反转型焦散线位置一致,证明该会聚区是由大量简正波同相叠加形成的下反转点会聚区,其在深海声道轴以下的一定深度范围内都具有会聚效应,研究了该会聚区的形成条件以及声源深度变化对会聚区焦散结构的影响,对比了远距离处上下反转点会聚区的传播损失以及会聚区宽度,分析表明第七个下反转点会聚区的会聚增益仍不小于10 dB,研究了声速垂直结构变化对下反转点会聚区的影响,理论分析结果与实验数据吻合较好.     

小掠射角下高斯谱粗糙海面反射损失建模

在散射能量基本为前向散射且集中在“镜面反射”方向的情况下,粗糙海面反射损失建模是声呐信号传播建模必不可少的一部分,尤其对于中远距离下浅海或者存在表面声道的水声环境,小掠射角(10°以内)下的粗糙海面反射损失建模尤为重要。首先基于高斯谱粗糙海面模型,通过高海况下的声传播试验数据处理分析了粗糙海面边界条件下的Ramsurf声传播模型的有效性,进而以Ramsurf声传播模型为基准,在小掠射角下,比较分析了Kirchhoff近似(KA)海面反射损失模型和小斜率近似(SSA)海面反射损失模型,数值计算结果表明,在小掠射角下SSA海面反射损失模型与Ramsurf计算结果较为吻合,是比较精确的海面反射损失模型。      

深海海底反射会聚区声传播特性

在深海声道条件下,海水折射效应会使得声场出现会聚效应;在不完全声道条件下,深海海底对声场具有重要影响.利用在中国南海海域收集到的一次深海声传播实验数据,研究了深海不完全声道环境下的海底反射对声传播的影响.实验观测到不同于深海会聚区的海底反射会聚现象,在直达声区范围内的海底地形隆起可导致海底反射会聚区提前形成,并使得部分影区的声强明显提高.由于不平坦海底和海面的反射破坏了完全声道环境下的会聚区结构,在60 km范围内存在两个海底反射会聚区,会聚区增益可达10 dB以上,同时在11 km附近的影区和51 km附近形成高声强区域.当接收深度与声源深度相同时,第二会聚区的增益高于第一会聚区.在第一会聚区内,随着接收深度的增加,声线到达结构趋于复杂,多途效应更加明显.使用抛物方程数值分析结合射线理论对深海海底反射会聚区现象产生的物理原因进行了分析解释.研究结果对于声纳在深海复杂环境下的性能分析具有重要的指导意义.     

Sound propagation from the shelfbreak to deep water

Motivated by a phenomenon in an experiment conducted in the Northwestern Pacific indicating that the energy of the received signal around the sound channel axis is much greater than that at shallower depths,we study sound propagation from the transitional area(shelfbreak)to deep water.Numerical simulations with different source depths are first performed,from which we reach the following conclusions.When the source is located near the sea surface,sound will be strongly attenuated by bottom losses in a range-independent oceanic environment,whereas it can propagate to a very long range because of the continental slope.When the source is mounted on the bottom in shallow water,acoustic energy will be trapped near the sound channel axis,and it converges more evidently than the case where the source is located near the sea surface.Then,numerical simulations with different source ranges are performed.By comparing the relative energy level in the vertical direction between the numerical simulations and the experimental data,the range of the air-gun source can be approximated.     

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.     

Study of a novel range-dependent propagation effect with application to the axial injection of signals from the Kaneohe source

A novel range-dependent propagation effect occurs when a source is placed on the seafloor in shallow water with a downward refracting sound speed profile, and sound waves propagate down a slope into deep water. Under these conditions, small grazing-angle sound waves slide along the bottom downward and outward from the source until they reach the depth of the sound channel axis in deep water, where they are detached from the sloping bottom and continue to propagate outward near the sound channel axis. This "mudslide" effect is one of a few robust and predictable acoustic propagation effects that occur in range-dependent ocean environments. As a consequence of this effect, a bottom mounted source in shallow water can inject a significant amount of acoustic energy into the axis of the deep ocean sound channel that can then propagate to very long ranges. Numerical simulations with a full-wave range-dependent acoustic model show that the Kaneohe experiment had the appropriate source, bathymetry, and sound speed profiles that allows this effect to operate efficiently. This supports the interpretation that some of the near-axial acoustic signals, received near the coast of California from the bottom mounted source located in shallow water in Kaneohe Bay, Oahu, Hawaii, were injected into the sound channel of the deep Pacific Ocean by this mechanism. Numerical simulations suggest that the mudslide effect is robust.     

深海海底斜坡环境下的声传播

海底地形变化对声传播具有很大影响,在南海深海区域海底斜坡环境下进行了一次声传播实验,实验显示倾斜海底环境下声传播损失出现了一些不同于平坦海底环境下的现象,分析并解释了海底地形变化对产生声传播差异的原因.结果表明,海底斜坡对声波的反射增强作用可使斜坡上方的声传播损失减少约5 d B.当声波第一次入射到达的海底位置有较小幅度的山丘(凸起高度小于1/10海深)时,海底小山丘即可对声波有反射遮挡作用,导致在其反射区特定传播距离和深度上出现倒三角声影区,比平坦海底环境下相同影区位置处的传播损失增大约8 d B,影响深度可达海面以下1500 m.而海底斜坡对声波的反射阻挡作用使得从海面反射及水体向下折射的会聚区结构消失,只剩下从水体向上折射的会聚结构.因此,海底地形对深海声传播影响较大,在水下目标探测和性能评估等应用中应予以重视.     

浅海涌浪对表面声道声传播的影响

受海面强风和海-气相互作用影响,表面声道普遍存在于冬季海洋环境中,是一种天然有利于声传播的波导.但是海面波浪使得海表形成粗糙界面,会严重破坏这种优良性能.本文利用南海北部海区的一次冬季声传播实验数据,研究表面声道声传播特性.研究表明,海底底质对表面声道内声传播的影响较弱,当海面风较小时,涌浪造成的影响为主要原因.实验数据显示,考虑涌浪后的粗糙海面给70km远处带来了10dB的传播损失增长.因此在考察南海北部海区冬季声场特性时,不仅要考虑海面风浪的影响,更需要考虑周围海域传来的涌浪的影响.研究涌浪存在时的声传播特性对提升声纳设备在海况较差时的使用性能具有重要意义.     

Experimental studies of low-frequency reverberation on the continental slope in the northwestern Pacific Ocean

Experimental data obtained on the continental slope near the Kamchatka peninsula for the reverberation at the frequencies 230, 600, and 850 Hz in the cases of coincident and spaced source and receiver of sound are presented. The data include the dependences of the reverberation level on time for both directional and omnidirectional receiving systems, as well as the dependences of the reverberation level on the duration of the probing pulses and on the sea depth at the source site. It is shown that, at the frequency 230 Hz, a substantial contribution to the reverberation is made by the reflection and scattering on the shelf near the coastline and in the region of the “depth drop.” At the frequencies 600 and 850 Hz, the predominant mechanism is bottom and surface scattering in the region of the continental slope.     

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.     

Interfering modes and an axial wave in an underwater sound channel

Experiments on long-range propagation of low-frequency sound that were conducted starting from the mid-1980s indicate a complex character of propagation in an underwater sound channel, in which a source and a receiver are located close to the channel axis. A burst of energy propagating along the axis follows early arrivals, which are well described by the formulas of geometrical acoustics, in plots of acoustic intensity as a function of propagation time and hydrophone depth. This energy burst cannot be described using geometrical acoustics because of caustics with caustic beaks located near the channel axis. Very complex interference processes occur near these caustics. As the distance from the source grows, the dimensions of the interference vicinity increase and start to overlap producing a peculiar “axial wave.” For an arbitrary two-dimensional underwater sound channel, the axial wave can be represented as a sum of the first normal modes and a residue. This conclusion is based on the use of two representations for an acoustic field. The first of them includes the sum of ray components and an axial wave. The second representation consists of ray addends, the sum of the first normal modes, and a residue. Numerical results are obtained for a canonical profile of sound velocity at the frequency of 200 Hz for the distances of 1600–1650 km.