Benchmarking geoacoustic inversion methods for range-dependent waveguides

Inversion methods have been developed over the past decade to extract information about unknown ocean-bottom environments from acoustic field data. This paper summarizes results from the Office of Naval Research/Space and Naval Warfare Systems Command (SPAWAR) Geoacoustic Inversion Techniques Workshop, which was designed to benchmark present-day inversion methods. The format of the workshop was a blind test to estimate unknown geoacoustic profiles by inversion of synthetic acoustic field data. The fields were calculated using a high-angle parabolic approximation and verified using coupled normal modes for three range-dependent shallow-water test cases: a monotonic slope; a shelf break; and a fault intrusion in the sediment. Geoacoustic profiles were generated to simulate sand, silt, and mud sediments in these environments. Several different approaches for inverting the acoustic field data were presented at the workshop: model-based matched-field methods; perturbation methods; methods using transmission loss data; and methods using horizontal array information. An effective inversion must provide both an estimate of the bottom parameters and a measure of the uncertainty of the estimated values. New methods were presented at the workshop to formalize the measure of uncertainty in the inversion. Comparisons between the different inversions are discussed in terms of a metric-based transmission loss calculated using the inverted profiles. The results demonstrate the effectiveness of present-day inversion techniques and indicate the limits of their capabilities for range-dependent waveguides.     

Geoacoustic seafloor exploration with a towed array in a shallowwater area of the Strait of Sicily

Acoustic propagation in shallow water is greatly dependent on the geoacoustic properties of the seabottom. This paper exploits this dependence for estimating geoacoustic sediment properties from the bottom acoustic returns of known signals received on a hydrophone line array. There are two major issues in this approach: one is the feasibility of acoustic inversion with a limited aperture line array, the other is related to the knowledge of the geometry of the experimental configuration. To test the feasibility of this approach, a 40-hydrophone-4-m spaced towed array together with a low-frequency acoustic source, was operated at a shallow water site in the Strait of Sicily. In order to estimate the array deformation in real time, it has been equipped with a set of nonacoustic positioning sensors (compasses, tilt-meters, pressure gauges). The acoustic data were inverted using two complementary approaches: a genetic algorithm (GA) like approach and a radial basis functions (RBF) inversion scheme. More traditional methods, based on core sampling, seismic survey and geophone data, together with Hamilton's regression curves, have also been employed on the same tracks, in order to provide a ground truth reference environment. The results of the experiment, can be summarized as follows: 1) the towed array movement is not negligible for the application considered and the use of positioning sensors are essential for a proper acoustic inversion, 2) the inversion with GA and RBF are in good qualitative agreement with the ground truth model, and 3) the GA scheme tends to have better stability properties. On the other hand, repeated in version of successive field measurements requires much less computational effort with RBF     

Estimating geoacoustic parameters using matched-field inversion methods

In this paper, we use matched-field inversion methods to estimate the geoacoustic parameters for three synthetic test cases from the Geoacoustic Inversion Techniques Workshop held in May 2001 in Gulfport, MS. The objective of this work is to use a sparse acoustic data set to obtain estimates of the parameters as well as an indication of their uncertainties. The unknown parameters include the geoacoustic properties of the sea bed (i.e., number of layers, layer thickness, density, compressional speed, and attenuation) and the bathymetry for simplified range-dependent acoustic environments. The acoustic data used to solve the problems are restricted to five frequencies for a single vertical line array of receivers located at one range from the source. Matched-field inversion using simplex simulated annealing optimization is initially used to find a maximum-likelihood (ML) estimate. However, the ML estimate provides no information on the uncertainties or covariance associated with the model parameters. To estimate uncertainties, a Bayesian formulation of matched-field inversion is used to generate posterior probability density distributions for the parameters. The mean, covariance, and marginal distributions are determined using a Gibbs importance sampler based on the cascaded Metropolis algorithm. In most cases, excellent results were obtained for relatively sensitive parameters such as wave speed, layer thickness, and water depth. The variance of the estimates increase for relatively insensitive parameters such as density and wave attenuation, especially when noise is added to the data.     

Perturbative inversion of geoacoustic parameters in a shallow waterenvironment

In many strategic shallow water areas, the geoacoustic properties of the sub-bottom are largely unknown. This paper demonstrates that inverse theory and measured data from a single hydrophone can be used to accurately deduce the geoacoustic properties of the sub-bottom, even when the initial background geoacoustic model is a highly inaccurate estimate. Since propagation in shallow water is very sensitive to the geoacoustic properties of the sub-bottom the inverse technique is a vitally important, practical, and inexpensive means to improve sonar performance prediction in a potentially hostile environment. To provide ground truth for the inverse technique, measured data collected during Project GEMINI were compared to the inverse solutions. Detailed, site-specific geoacoustic models were developed for two array locations and the finite-element parabolic equation (FEPE) model was used to estimate transmission loss (TL). The model estimates from FEPE compared well with the measured data and the detailed geoacoustic models were considered as “ground truth.” To test the efficacy of the technique, initial background geoacoustic models were constructed assuming no a priori information of the bottom. The resultant inverse solution was used to predict the geoacoustic properties at each of the sites. The final results were in excellent agreement with the measured data and the resulting TL estimates derived from the inverse technique were as good or better than the TL estimates obtained from the detailed, site-specific geoacoustic models     

Using the adaptive simulated annealing algorithm to estimate ocean-bottom geoacoustic properties from measured and synthetic transmission loss data

This paper presents the results obtained using the adaptive simulated annealing (ASA) algorithm to invert the test cases from the Geoacoustic Inversion Techniques Workshop held in May 2001. The ASA algorithm was chosen for use in our inversion software for its speed and robustness when searching the geoacoustic parameter solution space to minimize the difference between the observed and the modeled transmission loss (TL). Earlier work has shown that the ASA algorithm is approximately 15 times faster than a modified Boltzmann annealing algorithm, used in prior versions of our TL inversion software, with comparable fits to the measured data. Results are shown for the synthetic test cases, 0 through 3, and for the measured data cases, 4 and 5. The inversion results from the synthetic test cases showed that subtle differences between range-dependent acoustic model version 1.5, used to generate the test cases, and parabolic equation (PE) 5.0, used as the propagation loss model for the inversion, were significant enough to result in the inversion algorithm finding a geoacoustic environment that produced a better match to the synthetic data than the true environment. The measured data cases resulted in better fits using ASTRAL automated signal excess prediction system TL 5.0 than using the more sophisticated PE 5.0 as a result of the inherent range averaging present in the ASTRAL 5.0 predictions.     

Estimates of geoacoustic model parameters from inversions of horizontal and vertical line array data

This paper describes results from geoacoustic inversion of low-frequency acoustic data recorded at a receiving array divided into two sections, a sparse bottom laid horizontal array (HLA) and a vertical array (VLA) deployed in shallow water. The data are from an experiment conducted by the Norwegian Defence Research Establishment (FFI) in the Barents Sea, using broadband explosives (shot) sources. A two-layer range-independent geoacoustic model, consistent with seismic profiles from the area, described the environment. Inversion for geoacoustic model parameters was carried out using a fast implementation of the hybrid adaptive simplex simulated annealing (ASSA) inversion algorithm, with replica fields computed by the ORCA normal mode code. Low-frequency (40-128 Hz) data from six shot sources at ranges 3-9 km from the array were considered. Estimates of sediment and substrate p-wave velocities and sediment thickness were found to be consistent between independent inversions of data from the two sections of the array.     

Shallow-water sound transmission measurements on the New Jerseycontinental shelf

Calibrated acoustic measurements were made under calm sea state conditions on the New Jersey shelf near the AMCOR 6010 borehole, a surveyed area with known geophysical properties. The experiment was conducted in 73 m water with supporting measurements of salinity, temperature, and sound speed. Acoustic measurements were obtained with a vertical array of 24 hydrophones spaced equally at 2.5 m intervals; one of which was near the bottom. A source towed at 1/2 the water depth transmitted one of two sets of four tones spaced between 50 and 600 Hz for each run to ranges of 4 and 26 km. The data were processed with both a Hankel transform and a high resolution Doppler technique to yield horizontal wave-number spectrum at several depths. Results were obtained along both constant and gradually varying depth profiles. Similar modal interference patterns were observed at the lower frequencies. The constant depth-profile radial results were compared to calculations performed with several shallow water acoustic models using geoacoustic profiles derived from geophysical parameters and shear wave inversion methods     

Combined Geoacoustic Inversion of Propagation and Reverberation Data

Sonar performance predictions in shallow water are strongly dependent on good knowledge of the geoacoustic and scattering properties of the seabed. One technique to extract information about the bottom is to use a towed source and a towed horizontal array. This towed system has been shown to be applicable for characterizing the bottom properties locally by inversion of the acoustic signals received directly on the towed array at short ranges. The same towed system has also been applied to extract bottom properties from long-range reverberation data providing effective bottom properties over a large area. However, independent geoacoustic inversion of the short-range propagation and long-range reverberation data can introduce low sensitivity and uncertainty in the extracted bottom properties. An attempt to resolve this low sensitivity and ambiguity is made by a simultaneous geoacoustic inversion of short-range propagation and long-range reverberation data with the intention of constraining the possible solutions of the bottom properties.      

Active rapid geoacoustic characterization using a seismic survey source

A survey of received acoustic energy levels from a seismic profiler were performed in Long Beach Harbor, CA, for compliance with the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA). In addition to direct acoustic measurements, a rapid geoacoustic inversion algorithm was applied to the data to estimate the sediment properties acoustically. This inversion algorithm has matching criteria based on time spread, range-frequency interference patterns, and the range dependence of transmission loss. Self-consistency was checked by comparing acoustic measurements with predictions based on the inversion. With an estimated geoacoustic profile, predictions of received levels as a function of position in the range-dependent environment of Long Beach Harbor were then performed.     

Range-dependent geoacoustic inversion: results from the Inversion Techniques Workshop

Model-based geoacoustic inversion in range-dependent underwater environments is a challenging task constrained by data quality (synthetic or measured) and propagation-model efficiency and accuracy. The Inversion Techniques Workshop (ITW), held in Gulfport, MS, May 15-18, 2001, was organized for the acoustics community to present state-of-the-art numerical geoacoustic inversion capabilities in range-dependent shallow-water environments. The organizers defined five range-dependent test cases (three synthetic and two experimental cases). Two of the synthetic cases were adopted for geoacoustic inversion in this paper. The first test case (TC1) is a monotonic down-slope bathymetry problem and the adiabatic normal-mode model PROSIM was applied for the inversion in this case. The second test case (TC3) is a flat-bottom case with an intrusion. The forward model used in this case was RAMGEO. The global optimization package SAGA was used for geoacoustic inversion of the synthetically generated reference solutions for TC1 and TC3. In general, the geoacoustic inversion results are in good agreement with the true solutions provided by the organizers. The results obtained demonstrate the feasibility of performing geoacoustic inversion in synthetic range-dependent shallow-water environments. However, results show that the propagation model choice in the inversion is strongly dependent on the specific range-dependent environment.     

Bayesian geoacoustic inversion for the Inversion Techniques 2001 Workshop

This paper applies a Bayesian formulation to range-dependent geoacoustic inverse problems. Two inversion methods, a hybrid optimization algorithm and a Bayesian sampling algorithm, are applied to some of the 2001 Inversion Techniques Workshop benchmark data. The hybrid inversion combines the local (gradient-based) method of downhill simplex with the global search method of simulated annealing in an adaptive algorithm. The Bayesian inversion algorithm uses a Gibbs sampler to estimate properties of the posterior probability density, such as mean and maximum a posteriori parameter estimates, marginal probability distributions, highest-probability density intervals, and the model covariance matrix. The methods are applied to noise-free and noisy benchmark data from shallow ocean environments with range-dependent geophysical and geometric properties. An under-parameterized approach is applied to determine the optimal model parameterization consistent with the resolving power of the acoustic data. The Bayesian inversion method provides a complete solution including quantitative uncertainty estimates and correlations, while the hybrid inversion method provides parameter estimates in a fraction of the computation time.     

Matched field inversion for geoacoustic model parameters usingadaptive simulated annealing

A method is described for the estimation of geoacoustic model parameters by the inversion of acoustic field data using a nonlinear optimization procedure based on simulated annealing. The cost function used by the algorithm is the Bartlett matched-field processor (MFP), which related the measured acoustic field with replica fields calculated by the SAFARI fast field program. Model parameters are perturbed randomly, and the algorithm searches the multidimensional parameter space of geoacoustic models to determine the parameter set that optimizes the output of the MFP. Convergence is driven by adaptively guiding the search to regions of the parameter space associated with above-average values of the MFP. The performance of the algorithm is demonstrated for a vertical line array in a shallow water enviornment where the bottom consists of homogeneous elastic solid layers. Simulated data are used to determine the limits on estimation performance due to error in experimental geometry and to noise contamination. The results indicate that reasonable estimates are obtained for moderate conditions of noise and uncertainty in experimental geometry     

Data Uncertainty Estimation in Matched-Field Geoacoustic Inversion

This paper examines a variety of approaches to treating unknown data uncertainties in matched-field geoacoustic inversion. Both optimal parameter estimation via misfit minimization and parameter uncertainty estimation via Gibbs sampling are considered. The misfit is based on the likelihood function for Gaussian-distributed errors, which requires specification of the data variance at each frequency. Unfortunately, independent knowledge of variance is rarely available due to unknown theory errors. Many applications of matched-field minimization implicitly assume that variance effects are uniform over frequency; however, this can be a poor assumption as theory errors generally vary with frequency. Parameter uncertainty estimation to date has used fixed maximum-likelihood (ML) variance estimates, which does not account for the variance uncertainty in estimating parameter uncertainties. This paper considers two new approaches to treating data uncertainty in matched-field inversion: Including variances explicitly as additional (nuisance) parameters in the inversion, and treating variances as implicit unknowns by constraining the misfit according to an ML variance formulation (this includes variance uncertainty without increasing the number of unknown parameters). All of the above approaches are compared for realistic synthetic test cases and for shallow-water acoustic data measured in the Mediterranean Sea as part of the PROpagation channel SIMulator experiment (PROSIM'97).     

Geoacoustic model parameter estimation using a bottom-moored hydrophone array

This paper describes results from an experiment carried out to investigate geoacoustic inversion with a bottom-moored hydrophone array located in the shallow waters of the Timor Sea off the northern coast of Australia. The array consisted of two arms in a V shape, horizontally moored at a site that was essentially flat over a large area. Hydrophone positions were estimated using an array element localization (AEL) technique that established relative uncertainties of less than 1 m on the seafloor. The data used for geoacoustic inversion were from experiments with continuous wave (CW) tones in the 80- to 195-Hz band transmitted from a towed projector. A hybrid search algorithm determined the set of geoacoustic model parameters that maximized the Bartlett fit (averaged coherently spatially at each tone and incoherently over frequency) between the measured and modeled data at the array. Due to the long range experimental geometry, the inversion was sensitive to attenuation in the sediment. The inverted geoacoustic profile performed well in a simple test for localizing the sound source at other sites in the vicinity of the array. Range-depth localization performance for the horizontal array was comparable to that for an equivalent vertical array.     

Matched-field inversion for geoacoustic model parameters in shallowwater

Matched-field inversion is used to, estimate geoacoustic properties from data obtained in an experiment with a vertical line array (VLA). The experiment was carried out using broad-band sources (shots) in water depths of about 200 m on the continental shelf off Vancouver Island. The data were processed to obtain spectral components of the field for frequencies near the bubble frequency for the shot. The ocean bottom in this region consists of a layer of mainly sandy sediments (about 100 m thick) overlying older consolidated material. Consequently, the inversion was designed to estimate the parameters of a two-layer elastic sediment model. In the inversion, an adaptive global search algorithm was used to investigate the multidimensional space of geoacoustic models in order to determine the set of values corresponding to the best replica field. Convergence is driven by adaptively guiding the search to regions of the parameter space associated with above-average values of the matched field correlation between the measured and replica fields. The geoacoustic profile estimated by the inversion consisted of a 125-m layer with compressional speed ~1700 m/s and shear speed ~400 m/s, overlying a layer with compressional speed ~1900 m/s. This model is consistent with the results from conventional seismic experiments carried out in the same region     

A Sound Approach to Soft Sediment Resolution

The last few years has seen a surge in research activities directed towards investigating properties and dynamics of young marine, limnic and fluvial sediments. It is by now a well established fact that the sequence of sediments ranging from concentrated benthic suspension over fluid mud to un-consolidated material summarized as liquid sediments (LS), act as carriers for a wide range of pollutants discharged or migrated into waterways. Knowledge of the transport and fate of LS allows determining the transport and fate of adsorbed constituents (e.g., heavy metals, pesticides, PCBs, PAHs). To assess the environmental impact of LS, efforts have to be made to better understand the processes in relation to hydrodynamics and the chemical and physical properties of the layers. Since physical laws limit the resolution and detection power of conventional seismo-acoustic systems in respect of LS, alternative measurement, data analysis and processing approaches have to be found. Adapted acoustic procedures initially developed for shallow water marine environments to extreme shallow water regimes using matched field inversion techniques can reveal geoacoustic parameters including density, compressional wave speed and attenuation as a function of depth and time. The paper outlines the effects of sediment mobility upon the environment followed by a short overview of techniques commonly used to investigate sediments and other freshwater/marine events. The problems faced and limitations of existing systems are briefly outlined. Results obtained with recently developed and refined geoacoustic inversion methods are presented highlighting their potential for long-term study of physical properties and dynamics of LS.     

Geoacoustic characterization of a range-dependent ocean environment using towed array data

This paper examines geoacoustic inversion over a range-dependent multiple-layer seabed using a towed acoustic source and towed horizontal array. The approach is based on combining the results of a series of short-range, range-independent inversions to form a range-dependent representation of the environment. The data were collected in the Strait of Sicily during the MAPEX 2000 experiment. Issues such as the resolvability of multilayer structure and the sensitivity of various geoacoustic parameters are investigated by inversion of simulated data and by comparison of the MAPEX 2000 inversion results to a high-resolution seismic profile and to sediment core measurements. It appears that two, and in some cases possibly three, sediment layers can be resolved.     

Effective parameters for matched field geoacoustic inversion in range-dependent environments

Using the well-established technique of geoacoustic inversion, one can estimate a set of acoustic sea-bed parameters from sonar array data. Simultaneously, one can search for geometric parameters such as range, water depth, and hydrophone depth. When the technique is applied in a range-dependent environment, there is a potentially much larger set of parameters to match, unless one has perfect knowledge of the bathymetry. From the point of view of optimization, one needs to handle uncertainties in bathymetry without hugely increasing the amount of computation. A simple time-domain view (which is shown to be equivalent to the adiabatic approximation) suggests that it is sufficient to use a range-independent model with an empirical "effective" depth even when the bottom is not flat. In fact, there is a set of effective environments that will suffice; one can choose whichever is the most convenient. The success of this concept is demonstrated with some test cases from a recent Geoacoustic Inversion Techniques Workshop.     

Description of the Hamilton-Bachman smart rule (HBSR) inversion technique (IT) applied to impulsive source data from the 2001 IT workshop

An inversion technique (IT) is developed and preliminarily tested using data from the 2001 IT Workshop. This technique was developed using TL versus range data collected by the harsh environments program (HEP) and provided through the workshop. However, the IT developed here applies to all sonar systems, active and passive. The sonar-independent portion of the IT consists of a simulated annealing algorithm to be developed by Neumann et al. constrained by an expert system called the Hamilton-Bachman Smart Rules (HBSR), which was developed by the authors. This expert system constrains the geoacoustic model being inverted to realistic Hamilton-Bachman-type values, curve shapes, etc. The sonar-specific module of the IT is chosen based on the sonar frequency and models available to run at those frequencies. Two measured data cases from the workshop are presented and, due to the HBSR, good solutions were acquired in less than 50 iterations.