Concentrated suspension theory of sound attenuation in marine sediments—linear dependence of absorption coefficient on frequency

Statistical averages of acoustic scattering and attenuation in sea bed sediments, and of the corresponding sea bed absorption coefficients, are obtained. The multiple scattering interactions among the particles in concentrated suspension are taken into account. The suspensions are assumed to be a collection of spherical particles of various sizes, and for which the masses corresponding to various radii follow a normal distribution. The numerical results obtained show that the absorption coefficient has a linear dependence on frequency if there is a sufficiently broad distribution of the particle radii. However, if βR ? 1, where R is particle radius and β is the viscous wavenumber, the absorption may be proportional to the frequency raised to a power higher than unity. Comparisons of results with some published experimental data are presented.