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Ship noise recorded by a vertical hydrophone array in the Mississippi Canyon region of the Gulf of Mexico is shown to contain the acoustic influence of bathymetric features, seabed properties, and water column sound speeds. Noise coherence is demonstrated to be an effective metric not just for identifying ship traffic in recorded data but also for "fingerprinting" the environment. A three-dimensional acoustics model adopting automatic identification system ship track information and realistic oceanographic conditions is used to compute noise coherence distributions across the canyon area and enables numerical study of the water column sound speed effects that can lead to temporal changes in noise coherence. The study shows the importance of including in situ sound speed measurements or constraints in passive ship noise localization from coherence measurements. Seasonal variability is also examined with models suggesting a strong influence of seasonal changes. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During the spring of 2021, a coordinated multi-vessel effort was organized to study physical oceanography, marine geology and biology, and acoustics on the northeast United States continental shelf, as part of the New England Shelf Break Acoustics (NESBA) experiment. One scientific goal was to establish a real-time numerical model aboard the research vessel with high spatial and temporal resolution to predict the oceanography and sound propagation within the NESBA study area. The real-time forecast model performance and challenges are reported in this letter without adjustment or re-simulation after the cruise. Future research directions for post-experiment studies are also suggested. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The three-dimensional (3D) propagation effects of horizontal refraction and diffraction were measured on a tetrahedral hydrophone array deployed near the coast of Block Island, RI. Linear frequency modulated chirp signals, centered at 1 kHz with a 400 Hz bandwidth, were transmitted from a ship moving out of the acoustic shadow zone blocked by the island from the perspective of the hydrophone array. The observed shadow zone boundary was consistent with the prediction made by a 3D sound propagation model incorporating high-resolution bathymetry and realistic sound speed obtained from a data-assimilated regional ocean model. The 3D modal ray calculation provided additional insight into the frequency dependence of the signal spreading. This analysis found that the modes at higher frequencies can propagate closer to the coast of the island with shallower modal cutoff depths, where the sound energy penetrates the sloping seafloor at supercritical incidence. The evidence of horizontal caustics of the sound was shown in the parabolic equation and modal ray models by comparing to the arrival pattern observed in the data. The arrival angle measurements on the tetrahedral array show the complex propagation patterns, including the diffracted energy in the island shadow and acoustic energy refracted away from the island. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The conversion from seismic to ocean-acoustic waves occurs in different places on the bottom of the ocean, often hundreds to thousands of kilometers away from the epicenter. Here, we investigate this conversion process by studying 15 large-magnitude earthquakes that occurred between 2014 and 2022 along the Kermadec Arc in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. To pinpoint the location where seismic-to-acoustic conversion takes places, we analyze hydroacoustic signals recorded by a hydrophone triplet station of the International Monitoring System in the Juan Fernández archipelago. Results from direction-of-arrival and travel-time calculations indicate that the location of the conversion zone largely matches segments of the Louisville Seamount Chain, its lateral extent ranging from approximately 300 to 1800 km, and its location depending on the geometry between earthquake epicenter and the seamounts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Crossing internal wave trains are commonly observed in continental shelf shallow water. In this paper, we study the effects of crossing internal wave structures on three-dimensional acoustic ducts with both theoretical and numerical approaches. We show that, depending on the crossing angle, acoustic energy, which is trapped laterally between internal waves of one train, can be either scattered, cross-ducted or reflected by the internal waves in the crossing train. We describe the governing physics of these effects and illustrate them for selected internal wave scenarios using full-field numerical simulations. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three-dimensional (3D) geodesic Cartesian parabolic equation model is utilized to study the propagation of low-frequency underwater sound (5 to 20 Hz), the so-called T-phase wave, triggered by a Southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge earthquake. The sound from the earthquake was recorded at 1050 km from the epicenter by the deep water hydrophones of the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization network near Ascension Island. A few hours later and at 8655 km from the epicenter, the hydrophones of the Shallow Water 2006 experiment in the U.S. East coast also registered the sound. Recorded field data showed discrepancies between expected and measured arrival angles indicating the likely occurrence of horizontal sound reflection in the long waveguide journey. Numerical modeling of this T-phase wave propagation across the Atlantic Ocean with realistic physical oceanographic inputs was performed, and the results showed the importance of 3D effects induced by the Mid-Atlantic Ridge and Atlantic Islands. Future research directions, including localization of T-phase wave generation/excitation locations, are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A quasi-analytical three-dimensional (3D) normal mode model for longitudinally invariant environments can be used to compute vertical noise coherence in idealized ocean environments. An examination of the cross modal amplitudes in the modal decomposition of the noise cross-spectral density shows that the computation can be simplified, without loss of fidelity, by modifying the vertical and horizontal mode sums to exclude non-identical mode numbers. In the special case of a Gaussian canyon, the across-canyon variation of the vertical wave number associated with each mode allows a set of horizontally trapped modes to be generated. Full 3D and Nx2D parabolic equation sound propagation models can also be used to calculate vertical noise coherence and horizontal directionality. Intercomparison of these models in idealized and realistic canyon environments highlights the focusing effect of the bathymetry on the noise field. The absolute vertical noise coherence increases, while the zero-crossings of the real component of the coherence are displaced in frequency when out-of-plane propagation is accounted for. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three-dimensional (3-D) parabolic-equation (PE) method utilizing a higher-order split-step Padé algorithm and a boundary fitted grid has been developed to accurately solve 3-D underwater sound propagation problems with non-planar or tilted boundaries. At each PE marching step, the split-step Padé algorithm enables the method of alternating directions to implement the square-root Helmholtz operator by carrying out its one-dimensional (1-D) derivative components alternately, and it also allows a straightforward application of the 1-D non-uniform Galerkin method to discretize the solution mesh. The advantage of the boundary fitted grid to improve PE solution accuracy is most profound in the case of fitting to a pressure release surface as its boundary condition is a scalar and has no direction. This method can also be applied to a sloping interface by rotating the grid to align with the interface. Numerical problems of semi-circular waveguide and tilted wedge were solved using this boundary fitted PE method, and benchmark reference solutions were used to examine and confirm the accuracy of the PE solutions. Future applications include modeling 3-D acoustic scattering from a rough sea surface and 3-D sound propagation in beach environments. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional (3D) underwater sound field computations have been used for a few decades to understand sound propagation effects above sloped seabeds and in areas with strong 3D temperature and salinity variations. For an approximate simulation of effects in nature, the necessary 3D sound-speed field can be made from snapshots of temperature and salinity from an operational data-driven regional ocean model. However, these models invariably have resolution constraints and physics approximations that exclude features that can have strong effects on acoustics, example features being strong submesoscale fronts and nonhydrostatic nonlinear internal waves (NNIWs). Here, work to predict NNIW fields to improve 3D acoustic forecasts using an NNIW model nested in a tide-inclusive data-assimilating regional model is reported. The work was initiated under the Integrated Ocean Dynamics and Acoustics project. The project investigated ocean dynamical processes that affect important details of sound-propagation, with a focus on those with strong intermittency (high kurtosis) that are challenging to predict deterministically. Strong internal tides and NNIW are two such phenomena, with the former being precursors to NNIW, often feeding energy to them. Successful aspects of the modeling are reported along with weaknesses and unresolved issues identified in the course of the work. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The behavior of sound near an ocean front in a region with wedge bathymetry is examined. The front is parameterized as a zone of variation with inshore and offshore boundaries parallel to a straight coastline. The importance of frontal width and frontal sound speed on the ducting of acoustic energy is examined. Previous analytical studies of sound propagation and parameter sensitivity in an idealized wedge environment use an unphysical but convenient single interface front representation, which is here replaced by a continuous sound speed profile. The continuous profile selected is convenient for analytical investigation, but encourages the use of asymptotic approximation methods which are also described. The analytical solution method is outlined, and numerical results are produced with an emphasis on comparing to the single interface front. These comparisons are made to highlight the strengths and weaknesses of the idealized model for capturing the horizontal ducting effects. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The estuarine salt wedge presents a dynamic and highly refractive waveguide, the acoustic propagation characteristics of which are controlled by the water column sound speed gradient and boundary interactions. Acoustically, the salt wedge consists of two isospeed layers separated by a thin, three-dimensional (3D), high-gradient layer. The behavior of a broadband (500–2000 Hz) acoustic field under the influence of an estuarine salt wedge in the Columbia River estuary is explored using two 3D acoustic propagation models: 3D rays and 3D parabolic equation. These model results are compared to data collected during the field experiment. Results demonstrate that the dominant physical mechanism controlling acoustic propagation in this waveguide shifts from 3D bottom scatter in a non-refractive waveguide (before the entrance of the salt wedge) to 3D acoustic refraction with minimal bottom interaction in a refractive waveguide (when the salt wedge occupies the acoustic transect). Vertical and horizontal refraction in the water column and out-of-plane scattering by the bottom are clearly evident at specific narrowband frequencies; however, these mechanisms contribute to, but do not account for, the total observed broadband transmission loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three-dimensional underwater sound propagation model with realistic ocean environmental conditions has been created for assessing the impacts of noise from offshore wind farm construction and operation. This model utilizes an existing accurate numerical solution scheme to solve the three-dimensional Helmholtz wave equation, and it is compared and validated with acoustic transmission data between 750 and 1250 Hz collected during the development of the Block Island Wind Farm (BIWF), Rhode Island. The variability of underwater sound propagation conditions has been investigated in the BIWF area on a temporal scale of months and a spatial scale of kilometers. This study suggests that future offshore wind farm developments can exploit the seasonal variability of underwater sound propagation for mitigating noise impact by scheduling wind farm construction during periods of high acoustic transmission loss. Discussions on other applications of soundscape prediction, planning, and management are provided. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

This special issue focuses on compelling three-dimensional (3D) volumetric and boundary effects on underwater sound propagation and scattering in complex and time-varying (thus four-dimensional) underwater environments. " Underwater acoustic energy fluctuations during strong internal wave activity using a three-dimensional parabolic equation", J. Acoust. 20 Lecoulant, J., Guennou, C., Guillon, L., and Royer, J.-Y. (2019). " Three-dimensional boundary fitted parabolic-equation model of underwater sound propagation", J. Acoust. [Extracted from the article]

This paper presents single receiver geoacoustic inversion of a combustive sound source signal, recorded during the 2017 Seabed Characterization Experiment on the New England Mud Patch, in an area where water depth is around 70 m. There are two important features in this study. First, it is shown that high-order modes can be resolved and estimated using warping (up to mode number 18 over the frequency band 20–440 Hz). However, it is not possible to determine mode numbers from the data, so that classical inversion methods that require mode identification cannot be applied. To solve this issue, an inversion algorithm that jointly estimates geoacoustic properties and identifies mode number is proposed. It is successfully applied on a range-dependent track, and provides a reliable range-average estimation of geoacoustic properties of the mud layer, an important feature of the seabed on the experimental area. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The acoustic modes of an idealized three-dimensional model for a curved shelf-slope ocean front [Lin and Lynch, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 131, EL1–EL7 (2012)] is examined analytically and numerically. The goal is to quantify the influence of environmental and acoustic parameters on acoustic field metrics. This goal is achieved by using conserved quantities of the model, including the dispersion relation and a conservation of mode number. Analytic expressions for the horizontal wave numbers can be extracted by asymptotic approximations and perturbations, leading to accurate and convenient approximations for their parameter dependence. These equations provide the dependence on model parameter changes of both the real horizontal wavenumbers, leading to modal phase speeds and other metrics, and the imaginary parts, leading to modal attenuation coefficients. Further approximations for small parameter changes of these equations characterize the parameter sensitivities and produce assessments of environmental and acoustic influences. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A higher-order square-root operator splitting algorithm is employed to derive a tangent linear solution for the three-dimensional parabolic wave equation due to small variations of the sound speed in the medium. The solution shown in this paper unifies other solutions obtained from less accurate approximations. Examples of three-dimensional acoustic ducts are presented to demonstrate the accuracy of the solution. Future work on the applications of associated adjoint models for acoustic inversions is proposed and discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The split-step Fourier method is used in three-dimensional parabolic-equation (PE) models to compute underwater sound propagation in one direction (i.e. forward). The method is implemented in both Cartesian (x, y, z) and cylindrical (r, θ, z) coordinate systems, with forward defined as along x and radial coordinate r, respectively. The Cartesian model has uniform resolution throughout the domain, and has errors that increase with azimuthal angle from the x axis. The cylindrical model has consistent validity in each azimuthal direction, but a fixed cylindrical grid of radials cannot produce uniform resolution. Two different methods to achieve more uniform resolution in the cylindrical PE model are presented. One of the methods is to increase the grid points in azimuth, as a function of r, according to nonaliased sampling theory. The other is to make use of a fixed arc-length grid. In addition, a point-source starter is derived for the three-dimensional Cartesian PE model. Results from idealized seamount and slope calculations are shown to compare and verify the performance of the three methods. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The acoustic ducting effect by curved nonlinear gravity waves in shallow water is studied through idealized models in this paper. The internal wave ducts are three-dimensional, bounded vertically by the sea surface and bottom, and horizontally by aligned wavefronts. Both normal mode and parabolic equation methods are taken to analyze the ducted sound field. Two types of horizontal acoustic modes can be found in the curved internal wave duct. One is a whispering-gallery type formed by the sound energy trapped along the outer and concave boundary of the duct, and the other is a fully bouncing type due to continual reflections from boundaries in the duct. The ducting condition depends on both internal-wave and acoustic-source parameters, and a parametric study is conducted to derive a general pattern. The parabolic equation method provides full-field modeling of the sound field, so it includes other acoustic effects caused by internal waves, such as mode coupling/scattering and horizontal Lloyd's mirror interference. Two examples are provided to present internal wave ducts with constant curvature and meandering wavefronts. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

An alternating direction implicit (ADI) three-dimensional fluid parabolic equation solution method with enhanced accuracy is presented. The method uses a square-root Helmholtz operator splitting algorithm that retains cross-multiplied operator terms that have been previously neglected. With these higher-order cross terms, the valid angular range of the parabolic equation solution is improved. The method is tested for accuracy against an image solution in an idealized wedge problem. Computational efficiency improvements resulting from the ADI discretization are also discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three-dimensional Cartesian parabolic-equation model with a higher-order approximation to the square-root Helmholtz operator is presented for simulating underwater sound propagation in ocean waveguides. The higher-order approximation includes cross terms with the free-space square-root Helmholtz operator and the medium phase speed anomaly. It can be implemented with a split-step Fourier algorithm to solve for sound pressure in the model. Two idealized ocean waveguide examples are presented to demonstrate the performance of this numerical technique. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sonar data acquired by sub-bottom profilers and echosounder systems are widely used to estimate geoacoustic properties of marine sediments. However, the uncertainty of the seabed property estimates caused by water-column variability may limit the application. In this paper, the acoustic focusing and defocusing effects of nonlinear internal gravity waves on normal-incident acoustic reflection measurements are studied. The experiment data were collected in the South China Sea from two transceiver moorings located at two different sites, one of which contained strong nonlinear internal waves (NIWs), while another site did not. The observed reflection intensity variation at the internal wave site varied up to 10 dB. On the other hand, the bottom reflections at the other site without internal waves were stable, and a seafloor sediment sample collected there was analyzed to validate the sediment type inferred from bottom loss. Numerical simulations using ray-tracing and parabolic equation models confirmed the cause of this intensity fluctuation by the acoustic focusing and defocusing of NIWs. This study eventually showed that NIWs may induce a significant bias for geoacoustic property estimates from seabed reflection coefficients. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Propagation of low-frequency sound across a warm core ring-enhanced oceanic front at lower horizontal grazing angles is presented. The data were collected from an experimental source tow conducted during the New England Shelf Break Acoustics (NESBA) experiments in spring 2021. The 3 h tow track provides spatiotemporal measurements of acoustic propagation through the front across varying geometries. Coincident oceanographic measurements are used to estimate the strong temperature gradient of the water column and three-dimensional (3D) sound speed field. Two-dimensional (2D) adiabatic mode and full-field sound propagation models are utilized to investigate the acoustic sensitivity to the frontal structure. Then, the joint effects of acoustic ducting and bathymetric slope refraction are examined using 3D sound propagation models. Key components of the measured acoustic impulse response are captured in the 3D numerical model, and the sensitivity of low-frequency propagation to the front geometry is demonstrated. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Three-dimensional propagation effects of low frequency sound from 100 to 400 Hz caused by seafloor topography and range-dependent bottom structure over a 20 km range along the New Jersey shelf are investigated using a hybrid modeling approach. Normal modes are used in the vertical dimension, and a parabolic-equation approximate model is applied to solve the horizontal refraction equation. Examination of modal amplitudes demonstrates the effect of environmental range dependence on modes trapped in the water column, modes interacting with the bottom, and modes trapped in the bottom. Using normal mode ray tracing, topographic features responsible for three-dimensional effects of horizontal refraction and focusing are identified. These effects are observed in the measurements from the Shallow Water 2006 experiment. Specifically, signals from a pair of fixed sources recorded on a horizontal line array sitting on the seafloor show an intensification caused by horizontal focusing due to the seabed topography of 4 dB along the array. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

During a 2 day period in mid-September 2006, more than 200, unconfirmed but identifiable, sei whale (Balaenoptera borealis) calls were collected as incidental data during a multidisciplinary oceanography and acoustics experiment on the shelf off New Jersey. Using a combined vertical and horizontal acoustic receiving array, sei whale movements were tracked over long distances (up to tens of kilometers) using a normal mode back propagation technique. This approach uses low-frequency, broadband passive sei whale call receptions from a single-station, two-dimensional hydrophone array to perform long distance localization and tracking by exploiting the dispersive nature of propagating normal modes in a shallow water environment. The back propagation approach is examined for accuracy and application to tracking the sei whale vocalizations identified in the vertical and horizontal array signals. This passive whale tracking, combined with the intensive oceanography measurements performed during the experiment, was also used to examine sei whale movements in relation to oceanographic features observed in this region. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A variety of localization methods with normal mode theory have been established for localizing low frequency (below a few hundred Hz), broadband signals in a shallow water environment. Gauss-Markov inverse theory is employed in this paper to derive an adaptive normal mode back-propagation approach. Joining with the maximum a posteriori mode filter, this approach is capable of separating signals from noisy data so that the back-propagation will not have significant influence from the noise. Numerical simulations are presented to demonstrate the robustness and accuracy of the approach, along with comparisons to other methods. Applications to real data collected at the edge of the continental shelf off New Jersey, USA are presented, and the effects of water column fluctuations caused by nonlinear internal waves and shelfbreak front variability are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A study of 400 Hz sound focusing and ducting effects in a packet of curved nonlinear internal waves in shallow water is presented. Sound propagation roughly along the crests of the waves is simulated with a three-dimensional parabolic equation computational code, and the results are compared to measured propagation along fixed 3 and 6 km source/receiver paths. The measurements were made on the shelf of the South China Sea northeast of Tung-Sha Island. Construction of the time-varying three-dimensional sound-speed fields used in the modeling simulations was guided by environmental data collected concurrently with the acoustic data. Computed three-dimensional propagation results compare well with field observations. The simulations allow identification of time-dependent sound forward scattering and ducting processes within the curved internal gravity waves. Strong acoustic intensity enhancement was observed during passage of high-amplitude nonlinear waves over the source/receiver paths, and is replicated in the model. The waves were typical of the region (35 m vertical displacement). Two types of ducting are found in the model, which occur asynchronously. One type is three-dimensional modal trapping in deep ducts within the wave crests (shallow thermocline zones). The second type is surface ducting within the wave troughs (deep thermocline zones). [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The coherent recombination of a direct and seabed reflected path is sensitive to the geophysical properties of the seabed. The concept of feature-based inversion is used in the analysis of acoustic data collected on a vertical line array (VLA) on the New England continental shelf break in about 200 m of water. The analysis approach for the measurements is based on a ray approach in which a direct and bottom reflected path is recombined, resulting in constructive and destructive interference of the acoustic amplitudes with frequency. The acoustic features have the form of prominent nulls of the measured received levels as a function of frequency as a broadband (500–4500 Hz) source passes the closest point of approach to the VLA. The viscous grain shearing (VGS) model is employed to parameterize a two-layer seabed model. The most likely seabed is a sand sediment with a porosity of about 0.42. There is a possibility of a thin (less than 0.5 m) surface layer having a slightly higher porosity between 0.45 and 0.50. Using the estimates for the VGS parameters inferred from the short-range frequency features, a normal mode model is used to predict the received acoustic levels over larger range scales. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

In predicting wave propagations in either direction, the size of the angle of propagation plays an important role; thus, the concept of wide-angle is introduced. Most existing acoustic propagation prediction models do have the capability of treating the wide-angle but the treatment, in practice, is vertical. This is desirable for solving two-dimensional (range and depth) problems. In extending the two-dimensional treatment to 3 dimensions, even though the wide-angle capability is maintained in most 3D models, it is still vertical. Owing to the need of a wide-angle capability in the azimuth direction, this paper formulates an azimuthal wide-angle wave equation whose theoretical development is presented. An illustrative example is included to demonstrate the need for such azimuthal wide-angle capability. Also, a comparison is shown between results using narrow-angle and wide-angle equations separately. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A three-dimensional (3D) hybrid modeling method is used to study the generation and propagation of T waves in the ocean triggered by a Southern Mid-Atlantic Ridge earthquake. First, a finite-element method model named SPECFEM3D is used to propagate seismic waves in the crust and acoustic waves in the ocean for the T-wave generation in a 200 × 50 km area near the epicenter. A 3D parabolic equation (PE) method is then used to propagate the T waves in the ocean for about 850 km further to the hydrophone stations deployed by the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test-Ban Treaty Organization (CTBTO) near Ascension Island. All of the simulations considered the realistic bathymetry and water sound speed profile. The SPECFEM3D results suggest that T waves with clear modal features could be generated by the concentration of reflected head waves in two depressions 40 km away from the epicenter. To compare with the hybrid modeling method for calculating T-wave propagation losses and arrival azimuths at the CTBTO hydrophones, point source simulations using the 3D PE model from the T waves source locations, identified with SPECFEM3D, were also implemented. The advantages and limitations of each approach are discussed. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A one-year fixed-path observation of seasonally varying subsurface ducted sound propagation in the Beaufort Sea is presented. The ducted and surface-interacting sounds have different time behaviors. To understand this, a surface-forced computational model of the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas with ice cover is used to simulate local conditions, which are then used to computationally simulate sound propagation. A sea ice module is employed to grow/melt ice and to transfer heat and momentum through the ice. The model produces a time- and space-variable duct as observed, with Pacific Winter Water (PWW) beneath a layer of Pacific Summer Water (PSW) and above warm Atlantic water. In the model, PSW moves northward from the Alaskan coastal area in late summer to strengthen the sound duct, and then mean PSW temperature decreases during winter and spring, reducing the duct effectiveness, one cause of a duct annual cycle. Spatially, the modeled PSW is strained and filamentary, with horizontally structured temperature. Sound simulations (order 200 Hz) suggest that ducting is interrupted by the intermittency of the PSW (duct gaps), with gaps enabling loss from ice cover (set constant in the sound model). The gaps and ducted sound show seasonal tendencies but also exhibit random process behavior. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The ambient sound field in the ocean can be decomposed into a linear combination of two independent fields attributable to wind-generated wave action at the surface and noise radiated by ships. The vertical coherence (the cross-spectrum normalized by the power spectra) and normalized directionality of wind-generated noise in the ocean are stationary in time, do not vary with source strength and spectral characteristics, and depend primarily on the local sound speed and the geoacoustic properties which define the propagation environment. The contribution to the noise coherence due to passing vessels depends on the range between the source and receiver, the propagation environment, and the effective bandwidth of the characteristic source spectrum. Using noise coherence models for both types of the sources, an inversion scheme is developed for the relative and absolute contribution of frequency dependent ship noise to the total sound field. A month-long continuous ambient sound recording collected on a pair of vertically aligned hydrophones near Alvin Canyon at the New England shelf break is decomposed into time-dependent ship noise and wind-driven noise power spectra. The processing technique can be used to quantify the impact of human activity on the sound field above the natural dynamic background noise, or to eliminate ship noise from a passive acoustic monitoring data set. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Nonlinear internal waves in shallow water have significant acoustic impacts and cause three-dimensional ducting effects, for example, energy trapping in a duct between curved wavefronts that propagates over long distances. A normal mode approach applied to a three-dimensional idealized parametric model [Lin, McMahon, Lynch, and Siegmann, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 133(1), 37–49 (2013)] determines the dependence of such effects on parameters of the features. Specifically, an extension of mode number conservation leads to convenient analytical formulas for along-duct (angular) acoustic wavenumbers. The radial modes are classified into five types depending on geometric characteristics, resulting in five distinct formulas to obtain wavenumber approximations. Examples of their dependence on wavefront curvature and duct width, along with benchmark comparisons, demonstrate approximation accuracy over a broad range of physical values, even including situations where transitions in mode types occur with parameter changes. Horizontal-mode transmission loss contours found from approximate and numerically exact wavenumbers agree well in structure and location of intensity features. Cross-sectional plots show only small differences between pattern phases and amplitudes of the two calculations. The efficiency and accuracy of acoustic wavenumber and field approximations, in combination with the mode-type classifications, suggest their application to determining parameter sensitivity and also to other feature models. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The horizontal ducting of sound by an oceanic temperature front over a sloping bottom is studied with an idealized wedge model consisting of a lateral interface across the slope. The water outside the frontal interface has higher temperature, hence faster sound speed, and it will produce inshore reflection/refraction of the sound. Combining the offshore refraction caused by the sloping bottom, propagating sound can be ducted along the front. An analytical solution to the sound pressure field in the idealized model is derived, and an example is presented to demonstrate and discuss the ducting effect. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

A correction to the article "Acoustic mode radiation from the termination of a truncated nonlinear internal gravity wave duct in a shallow ocean area" is presented.

The goal of this study was to characterize the detection range of a near real-time baleen whale detection system, the digital acoustic monitoring instrument/low-frequency detection and classification system (DMON/LFDCS), equipped on a Slocum glider and a moored buoy. As a reference, a hydrophone array was deployed alongside the glider and buoy at a shallow-water site southwest of Martha's Vineyard (Massachusetts, USA) over a four-week period in spring 2017. A call-by-call comparison between North Atlantic right whale upcalls localized with the array (n = 541) and those detected by the glider or buoy was used to estimate the detection function for each DMON/LFDCS platform. The probability of detection was influenced by range, ambient noise level, platform depth, detection process, review protocol, and calling rate. The conservative analysis of near real-time pitch tracks suggested that, under typical conditions, a 0.33 probability of detection of a single call occurred at 6.2 km for the buoy and 8.6–13.4 km for the glider (depending on glider depth), while a 0.10 probability of detection of a single call occurred at 14.4 m for the buoy and 22.6–27.5 km for the glider. Probability of detection is predicted to increase substantially at all ranges if more than one call is available for detection. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Environmental sensors moored on the New Jersey continental shelf tracked constant density surfaces (isopycnals) for 35 days in the summer of 2006. Sound-speed fluctuations from internal-wave vertical isopycnal displacements and from temperature/salinity variability along isopycnals (spiciness) are analyzed using frequency spectra and vertical covariance functions. Three varieties of internal waves are studied: Diffuse broadband internal waves (akin to waves fitting the deep water Garrett/Munk spectrum), internal tides, and, to a lesser extent, nonlinear internal waves. These internal-wave contributions are approximately distinct in the frequency domain. It is found that in the main thermocline spicy thermohaline structure dominates the root mean square sound-speed variability, with smaller contributions coming from (in order) nonlinear internal waves, diffuse internal waves, and internal tides. The frequency spectra of internal-wave displacements and of spiciness have similar form, likely due to the advection of variable-spiciness water masses by horizontal internal-wave currents, although there are technical limitations to the observations at high frequency. In the low-frequency, internal-wave band the internal-wave spectrum follows frequency to the -1.81 power, whereas the spice spectrum shows a -1.73 power. Mode spectra estimated via covariance methods show that the diffuse internal-wave spectrum has a smaller mode bandwidth than Garrett/Munk and that the internal tide has significant energy in modes one through three. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Sound at 85 to 450 Hz propagating in approximately 80-m depth water from fixed sources to a joint horizontal/vertical line array (HLA/VLA) is analyzed. The data are from a continental shelf area east of Delaware Bay (USA) populated with tidally generated long- and short-wavelength internal waves. Sound paths are 19 km in the along-shore (along internal-wave crest) direction and 30 km in the cross-shore direction. Spatial statistics of HLA arrivals are computed as functions of beam steering angle and time. These include array gain, horizontally lagged spatial correlation function, and coherent beam power. These quantities vary widely in magnitude, and vary over a broad range of time scales. For example, correlation scale can change rapidly from forty to five wavelengths, and correlation-scale behavior is anisotropic. In addition, the vertical array can be used to predict correlation expected for adiabatic propagation with cylindrical symmetry, forming a benchmark. Observed variations are in concert with internal-wave activity. Temporal variations of three coherence measures, horizontal correlation length, array gain, and ratio of actual correlation length to predicted adiabatic-mode correlation length, are very strong, varying by almost a factor of ten as internal waves pass. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The Pacific Arctic Region has experienced decadal changes in atmospheric conditions, seasonal sea-ice coverage, and thermohaline structure that have consequences for underwater sound propagation. To better understand Arctic acoustics, a set of experiments known as the deep-water Canada Basin acoustic propagation experiment and the shallow-water Canada Basin acoustic propagation experiment was conducted in the Canada Basin and on the Chukchi Shelf from summer 2016 to summer 2017. During the experiments, low-frequency signals from five tomographic sources located in the deep basin were recorded by an array of hydrophones located on the shelf. Over the course of the yearlong experiment, the surface conditions transitioned from completely open water to fully ice-covered. The propagation conditions in the deep basin were dominated by a subsurface duct; however, over the slope and shelf, the duct was seen to significantly weaken during the winter and spring. The combination of these surface and subsurface conditions led to changes in the received level of the sources that exceeded 60 dB and showed a distinct spacio-temporal dependence, which was correlated with the locations of the sources in the basin. This paper seeks to quantify the observed variability in the received signals through propagation modeling using spatially sparse environmental measurements. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Impact pile driving creates intense, impulsive sound that radiates into the surrounding environment. Piles driven vertically into the seabed generate an azimuthally symmetric underwater sound field whereas piles driven on an angle will generate an azimuthally dependent sound field. Measurements were made during pile driving of raked piles to secure jacket foundation structures to the seabed in waters off the northeastern coast of the U.S. at ranges between 500 m and 15 km. These measurements were analyzed to investigate variations in rise time, decay time, pulse duration, kurtosis, and sound received levels as a function of range and azimuth. Variations in the radiated sound field along opposing azimuths resulted in differences in measured sound exposure levels of up to 10 dB and greater due to the pile rake as the sound propagated in range. The raked pile configuration was modeled using an equivalent axisymmetric FEM model to describe the azimuthally dependent measured sound fields. Comparable sound level differences in the model results confirmed that the azimuthal discrepancy observed in the measured data was due to the inclination of the pile being driven relative to the receiver. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Potential physical effects of sonar transmissions on marine mammals were investigated by measuring pressure fields induced in a 119-kg, 211-cm-long, young adult male common dolphin (Delphinus delphis) cadaver. The specimen was instrumented with tourmaline acoustic pressure gauges used as receiving sensors. Gauge implantation near critical tissues was guided by intraoperative, high-resolution, computerized tomography (CT) scanning. Instrumented structures included the melon, nares, ear, thoracic wall, lungs, epaxial muscle, and lower abdomen. The specimen was suspended from a frame equipped with a standard 50.8-mm-diameter spherical transducer used as the acoustic source and additional receiving sensors to monitor the transmitted and external, scattered field. Following immersion, the transducer transmitted pulsed sinusoidal signals at 5, 7, and 10 kHz. Quantitative internal pressure fields are reported for all cases except those in which the gauge failed or no received signal was detected. A full necropsy was performed immediately after the experiment to examine instrumented areas and all major organs. No lesions attributable to acoustic transmissions were found, consistent with the low source level and source-receiver distances. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

To understand the issues associated with the presence (or lack) of azimuthal isotropy and horizontal (along isobath) invariance of low-frequency (center frequencies of 600 Hz and 900 Hz) acoustic propagation in a shelfbreak environment, a series of experiments were conducted under the Autonomous Wide-Aperture Cluster for Surveillance component of the Shallow Water 2006 experiment. Transmission loss data reported here were from two mobile acoustic sources executing (nearly) circular tracks transmitting to sonobuoy receivers in the circle centers, and from one 12.5 km alongshelf acoustic track. The circle radii were 7.5 km. Data are from September 8, 2006. Details of the acoustic and environmental measurements are presented. Simple analytic and computer models are used to assess the variability expected due to the ocean and seabed conditions encountered. A comparison of model results and data is made, which shows preliminary consistency between the data and the models, but also points towards further work that should be undertaken specifically in enlarging the range and frequency parameter space, and in looking at integrated transmission loss. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

The azimuthal limitation of the Parabolic Equation (PE) approximation in solving the three-dimensional (3D) wave equation in cylindrical coordinate has been studied in this paper. Typically, 3D problems are dealt with an N × 2D approximation, which treats a 3D field as a fan-like composition of many 2D vertical slices (r - z plane in cylindrical coordinate) ignoring the θ-coupling terms. To deal with problems possessing 3D effects, the θ-coupling terms have to be considered in PE approximation. Nevertheless, the azimuthal limitation in the 3D PE approximation is not defined as well as the vertical angle limitation. Hence, the theoretical derivation estimating the azimuthal limitation is put forth in this work. Numerical results of a modified benchmark problem are also presented to validate the arguments and the wide angle version of the 3D PE model, FOR3D. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]