The influence of the benthic frontal zone on acoustic wave propagation in the ocean and evaluation of the possibilities of its ray tomography

The specificity of ray trajectories in the presence of a benthic front, which is the boundary between the Antarctic deep and bottom waters, has been considered. Deep-water “noncanonical” caustic surfaces confined to the front have been found. The ability to reconstruct a sound velocity profile in the benthic frontal zone has been evaluated using methods of ray tomography in the ocean. A possible reconstruction of the profile using a horizontal displacement of the receiving antenna or transmitter at relatively small depths has been shown. Original Russian Text ? V.S. Ivanov, P.N. Kravchun, 2009, published in Vestnik Moskovskogo Universiteta. Fizika, 2009, No. 2, pp. 92–97.