Geoacoustic inversion of broad-band acoustic data in shallow water on a single hydrophone

The inversion of broad-band low-frequency acoustic signals received on sparse arrays can lead to robust and efficient estimations of sea-bed properties. This paper describes a shallow-water geoacoustic inversion scheme based on the use of a model-based matched-impulse response on a single hydrophone. Results from the INTIMATE'96 experiment on the Portuguese shelf break are reviewed. In order to minimize the effects of strong time variability due to internal tides, only the time-stable waterborne bottom-surface reflected arrivals are exploited. A quasi-linear inversion algorithm is first applied to refine the geometry of the experiment. Then, inversion of bottom parameters is performed with an objective function that only makes use of the bottom-surface reflected arrivals' amplitudes. The experimental results show that broad-band transmissions (300-800 Hz) received on a single hydrophone, combined with the use of a simple eigenray code, are sufficient to correctly resolve geometrical parameters and bottom features. The analysis of the reflection coefficients both on simulated and real data helps to understand the validity of the inverted parameters and to derive the basis of an equivalent medium concept for geoacoustic inversion based on a "through-the-sensor" approach.     

Spatio-temporal processing of coherent acoustic communication datain shallow water

Achieving reliable underwater communication in shallow water is a difficult task because of the random time-varying nature of multipath propagation. When the product of Doppler-related signal bandwidth spread and multipath-related time spread of the channel is larger than one, some types of adaptive signal processing may not work very well. In this paper, various methods of coherent space-time processing are compared for a condition of a marginally overspread channel operating at 50 kHz. Various combinations of suboptimal spatially adaptive and time adaptive methods are considered. The coherent path beamformer (CPB) and recursive least squares (RLS) adaptive beamformer, both in combination with RLS time filtering, are analyzed. Also considered in the analysis is the combined RLS space-time optimal adaptive processor. Many experiments using broad-band phase-shift-keyed transmissions in shallow water have been conducted to provide data for testing these various processing methods. Because of the rapid time variation of the multipath, the product of bandwidth spread and time spread at this test site approached unity. In this environment, a suboptimal approach consisting of the adaptive beamformer followed by RLS equalization reduced reverberation and transmission errors     

Source localization with broad-band matched-field processing inshallow water

Acoustic source localization using matched-field processing is presented for multitone signals from the Shallow Water Evaluation cell Experiment 3 (SWellEX-3). The experiment was carried out in July 1994 west of Point Loma, CA, in 200 m of water of complex bathymetry. The multitone signal (ten tones between 50 and 200 Hz) was transmitted from an acoustic source towed at various depths over tracks which produced complex propagation paths to a vertical line array receiver. Broad-band and narrow-hand processing, localization, and tracking results are compared with each other and with independent estimates of source position. With narrow-band processing, mismatch between the data and the predicted signal replica of ~1 dB reduced the mainlobe to levels equal to or below the sidelobes. Incoherently averaging the processing output over the multiple tones reduced range/depth sidelobe levels, allowing accurate source localization and tracking     

Fine-scale acoustic tomographic imaging of shallow water sediments

In acoustic tomographic system capable of performing in situ two-dimensional (2D) acoustic imaging of shallow water sediments is described. This system is capable of resolving inhomogeneities greater than 10 cm and differentiating sound-speed variations greater than 2%, A tomographic inversion is performed in a 2D vertical slice of about 1 m ² (1 m×1 m) using three identical probes, with each consisting of 70 evenly distributed transducers. In normal deployments, two of the probes are oriented vertically and are separated by about 1 meter, and the third is positioned horizontally right above the two vertical probes. The additional horizontal probe greatly improves the horizontal resolution of the system compared to conventional crosshole tomographic setups. Numerical simulations are performed to evaluate the influences of arrival time detection error and transducer position error on the performance of the tomography system. For an arrival time of 500 ns (standard deviation) and a position error of 4 mm (standard deviation), sound-speed anomalies of greater than 0.8% can be correctly predicted near the upper portion (close to the horizontal probe) and are resolvable near the lower portion. A controlled laboratory experiment was conducted to evaluate the performance of the system. The location of a polyurethane block (Conap EN22) used as a known target is correctly predicted while the inverted sound speed is about 9% lower than that from its actual value. Field data taken from a saturated muddy site are presented and analyzed. The inverted mean sound speed and attenuation are about 1480 ms^-1 and 20 dBm^-1, respectively     

Performance of a broad-band acoustic Doppler current profiler

A new broadband acoustic Doppler current profiler (ADCP) is described, with a useful range comparable to that of a commercially available narrowband (incoherent) system of the same acoustic frequency, but having enhanced performance. The extra performance may be traded off among (1) reduced velocity variance, (2) reduced averaging time, and (3) finer depth resolution. This improvement permits the observation of phenomena with smaller time and space scales than is now possible with available ADCPs. An expression predicting r.m.s. velocity error in terms of system parameters and the measured acoustic data is given and is shown to be consistent with the independently measured velocity error among redundant beams. Two major sources of bias error in incoherent ADCPs are shown to be much reduced for the broadband system. Field data demonstrating the improved performance over the existing incoherent ADCP are shown for cases of both strong and weak shear     

浅海声信道信号时间相关特性研究

水声信道中信号的时间相关特性是水声微弱信号相关检测的理论基础和具体参数选择依据。文中以厦门港典型的浅海声信道中信号的时间自相关和互相关特性进行实验研究。结果指出,信号有强的时间相关性,无论自相关或互相关性均比海洋环境噪声强得多,因此在水声信道中采用时间相关检测可望达到优良的抗噪声效果。     

Comparisons of high-frequency acoustic fluctuations with ocean-temperature and sea-surface fluctuations in shallow water

Dynamic ocean processes produce small thermal variations that induce spatial and temporal variability in the ocean's index of refraction and in the spatial scale along an acoustic propagation path. This paper reports measurements and analysis of thermal microstructure effects on ping-to-ping amplitude and phase variability of shallow-water direct-path acoustic propagation in the 20-200 kHz frequency range. These measurements were conducted during a joint experiment conducted by the Naval Research Laboratory and the North Atlantic Treaty Organization Supreme Allied Commander Atlantic (SACLANT) Undersea Research Centre, La Spezia, Italy, in 8 m of water off American Beach, located between Pisa and Livorno, Italy. Experimental observations are compared with predictions for isotropic and anisotropic turbulence, as well as for sea-surface swell. Measured phase and log-amplitude variances coincide with predictions and are relatively insensitive to weak water-column stability. The sea-surface swell dominates phase variances for this data and turbulence dominates log-amplitude variances. These results provide a reasonable lower limit on high-frequency ping-to-ping amplitude and on phase variability produced by benign shallow-water thermal fluctuations.     

声学水面无人艇在浅水海底地貌调查中的应用

水面无人艇（USV,Unmanned Surface Vehicle）具有吃水浅、灵活机动、安全高效的特点和优势,日益成为浅水调查的重要手段。对于常规船只和考察人员不能到达的浅水环境的调查,无人艇具有填补甚至替代的价值和意义。C-Worker 4水面无人艇平台搭载了多波束测深、侧扫声呐、浅层剖面声学系统,运用脉冲同步控制和发射频率差异化配置的方法实现数据同步采集,旨在提高调查效率、优化调查方法和节约成本。基于2019年在海南岛澄迈湾1.2～22 m浅水环境的调查数据,处理和分析评估表明其采集数据可靠性高,能清晰识别海底沙波、波纹、礁石、埋藏河道、港池、航道、拖痕等微地貌单元。研究证实水面无人艇搭载多源声学系统同步测量可提供精细、立体、可靠的海底地貌基础资料,服务于海岸带地质调查、资源开发、工程建设、水运交通和国防安全等。     

Implementation of multiuser detection strategies for coherentunderwater acoustic communication

This paper presents multiple access interference cancellation techniques based on joint implementation of spatial-beamforming and multiuser detection strategies for coherent underwater acoustic communication network. Performances of adaptive multiuser detection strategies based on weighted parallel, successive, and recursive successive interference cancellation techniques are compared using experimental sea-trial data. Results show that the receiver structure adopting weighted recursive successive interference cancellation (RSIC) exhibits robustness in extracting useful data for weak users in the presence of co-channel interference from strong users. In addition, this type of structure simultaneously suppresses the summed interference effects contributed by weaker users toward the strongest user. The RSIC structure is therefore a potential candidate for multiple access interference suppression in coherent shallow water acoustic communication systems     

浅水多次波衰减技术在多道地震数据处理中的应用

拖缆采集的海上多道地震数据受海水间传播的多次波影响,往往在共炮点道集上发育周期性的强振幅干扰波,这些噪音会掩盖海底以下及强反射层以下地层的面貌,严重影响多道地震数据的成像效果。为了消除海上多道地震数据中存在的海水间传播的多次波对地震数据的干扰,首先分析浅水多次波在海水间多次震荡的产生机制,采用了τ-P域静校正延迟技术对其进行压制,处理的核心是在τ-P域对周期性多次波模型进行预测,再通过自适应相减以去除地震数据中的多次波。实际资料处理结果表明,方法对海水间震荡的浅水多次波具有很好的压制效果,经过浅水多次波去除后的叠加剖面信噪比得到有效提高,剖面的品质得以提升。     

Segmentation and classification of shallow subbottom acoustic data,using image processing and neural networks

Subbottom acoustic profiler provides acoustic imaging of the subbottom structure constituting the upper sediment layers of the seabed, which is essential for geological and offshore geo-engineering studies. Delineation of the subbottom structure from a noisy acoustic data and classification of the sediment strata is a challenging task with the conventional signal processing techniques. Image processing techniques utilise the spatial variability of the image characteristics, known for their potential in medical imaging and pattern recognition applications. In the present study, they are found to be good in demarcating the boundaries of the sediment layers associated with weak acoustic reflectivity, masked by noisy background. The study deals with application of image processing techniques, like segmentation in identification of subbottom features and extraction of textural feature vectors using grey level co-occurrence matrix statistics. And also attempted classification using Self Organised Map, an unsupervised neural network model utilising these feature vectors. The methodology was successfully demonstrated in demarcating the different sediment layers from the subbottom images and established the sediments constituting the inferred four subsurface sediment layers differ from each other. The network model was also tested for its consistency, with repeated runs of different configuration of the network. Also the ability of simulated network was tested using a few untrained test images representing the similar environment and the classification results show a good agreement with the anticipated.     

Optimal localization of a seafloor transponder in shallow water using acoustic ranging and GPS observations

This study utilized circular and straight-line survey patterns for acoustic ranging to determine the position of a seafloor transponder and mean sound speed of the water column. To reduce the considerable computational burden and eliminate the risk of arriving at a local minimum on least-squares inversion, the position of a seafloor transponder was estimated by utilizing optimization approaches. Based on the implicit function theorem, the Jacobian for this inverse problem was derived to investigate the constraints of employing circular and straight-line survey patterns to estimate the position of a transponder. Both cases, with and without knowledge of the vertical sound speed profile, were considered. A transponder positioning experiment was conducted at sea to collect acoustic and GPS observations. With significant uncertainties inherent in GPS measurements and the use of a commercial acoustic transponder not designed for precise ranging, experimental results indicate that the transponder position can be estimated accurately on the order of decimeters. Moreover, the mean sound speed of the water column estimated by the proposed optimization scheme is in agreement with that derived from conductivity, temperature, and density (CTD) measurements.     

Multichannel system for the acquisition of high-frequency acoustic information

A 14-channel system for the acquisition of acoustical data is described which operates in the frequency range 1–20 kHz with smooth retuning over the entire frequency range. The effective bandpass is 700 Hz; the dynamic range is 80 dB. The system operates on-line under the control of the microcomputer ELECTRONIKA-60.Translated by Mikhaik M. Trufanov.     

浅海沉积层声学特性对声传播损失的影响仿真研究

为厘清海底沉积层声学特性信息的水声环境保障需求,构建浅海两层海底环境参数模型,并参考Hamilton海底底质9种分类设置沉积层声速、密度、衰减系数及厚度的参考值及计算采样区间,利用Kraken简振波模型,采用控制变量的方法,研究了浅海沉积层声学特性参数对声传播损失的影响;开展了建模理论推导及数值技术分析,研究了海底沉积层声学特性参数在模型计算过程中调用过程,并从建模计算的角度对仿真计算的结果进行解释,对海底沉积层声学特性调查装备发展及调查重点参数具有一定的参考价值。     

Analysis of shallow-water experimental acoustic data including acomparison with a broad-band normal-mode-propagation model

Channel temporal variability, resulting from fluctuations in oceanographic parameters, is an important issue for reliable communications in shallow-water-long-range acoustic propagation. As part of an acoustic model validation exercise, audio-band acoustic data and oceanographic data were collected from shallow waters off the West Coast of Scotland. These data have been analyzed for temporal effects. The average impulse response for this channel has been compared with simulations using a fast broad-band normal-mode propagation model. In this paper, we also introduce a novel technique for estimating and removing the bistatic reverberation contribution from the data. As propagation models do not necessarily account for reverberation, it has to be extracted from the signals when comparing measured and modeled transmission loss     

High-frequency reverberation in shallow water

Monostatic reverberation measurements were collected in shallow water, over a coarse gravel and cobble bottom, 100 m deep, off the coast of Nova Scotia. Data were collected at frequencies of 21, 28, and 36 kHz using linear FM pulses of 2-kHz bandwidth and 0.160-s duration. An anchored, high-frequency active sonar array deployed at a depth of 42 m was used to collect the data. The reverberation measurements were compared with estimates computed with the NUWC generic sonar model (GSM). The data were reasonably well modeled for times greater than 0.2 s after pulse transmission by neglecting surface reverberation and using Lambert's rule for bottom backscattering with a scattering coefficient of -27 dB, independent of frequency. At all three frequencies, the data and model show a peak approximately 0.9 s after pulse transmission. This peak results from a focusing effect that the downward-refracting sound-speed profile has on the interaction of the rays with the bottom     

水声信道高速率数据传输技术

本文介绍近年来水声信道高速率数所传输技术的一些研究进展，并结合本所研究的水声数据遥测，数字语音通讯和视频图像传输实验样机，讨论了具有抗多途干扰的声传输系统在调制信号设计及信号处理上所采用的关键技术。