Influence of the benthic front on the mode structure of acoustic field in the ocean

The characteristic features of the mode structure of low-frequency sound field in the ocean are investigated for the ocean regions containing the benthic front, which represents the boundary between the Antarctic bottom water and the deep water. The hydrographic characteristics of the benthic front are described with the use of the data of the international WOCE experiment. On the basis of mathematical simulation, the changes introduced by the benthic front into the phase and group velocities and the vertical structure of modes are estimated for a frequency range of 5–20 Hz. Possible ways of reconstructing the hydrographic characteristics of the benthic front by the mode tomography methods are considered.