Acoustic tomography at basin scales and clock errors

A basin-scale acoustic tomography simulation is carried out for the northeast Pacific Ocean to determine the accuracy with which time must be kept at the sources when clocks at the receivers are accurate. A sequential Kalman filter is used to estimate sound-speed fluctuations and clock errors. Sound-speed fluctuations in the simulated ocean are estimated from an eddy-resolving hydrodynamic model of the Pacific forced by realistic wind fields at daily resolution from 1981-1993. The model output resembles features associated with El Nino and the Southern Oscillation, as well as many other features of the ocean's circulation. Using a Rossby-wave resolving acoustic array of four fixed sources and twenty drifting receivers, the authors find that the percentage of the modeled ocean's sound-speed variance accounted for with tomography is 92% at 400-km resolution, regardless of the accuracy of the clocks. Clocks which drift up to hundreds of seconds of error or more for a year do not degrade tomographic images of the model ocean. Tomographic reconstructions of the sound-speed field are insensitive to clock error primarily because of the wide variety of distances between the receivers from each source. Every receiver “sees” the same clock error from each source, regardless of section length, but the sound-speed fluctuations in the modeled ocean cannot yield travel times which lead to systematic changes in travel time that are independent of section length. The Kalman filter is thus able to map the sound-speed field accurately in the presence of large errors at the source's clocks     

Estimating climatic temperature change in the ocean with syntheticacoustic apertures

An acoustic tomography simulation is carried out in the eastern North Pacific ocean to assess whether climate trends are better detected and mapped with mobile or fixed receivers. In both cases, acoustic signals from two stationary sources are transmitted to ten receivers. Natural variability of the sound-speed field is simulated with the Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) layered-ocean model. A sequential Kalman-Bucy filter is used to estimate the sound speed field, where the a priori error covariance matrix of the parameters is estimated from the NRL model. A spatially homogeneous climate trend is added to the NRL fluctuations of sound speed, but the trend is not parameterized in the Kalman filter. Acoustic travel times are computed between the sources and receivers by combining sound speeds from the NRL model with those from the unparameterized climate trend. The effects of the unparameterized climate trend are projected onto parameters which eventually drift beyond acceptable limits. At that time, the unparameterized trend is detected. Mobile and fixed receivers detect the trend at about the same time. At detection time, however, maps from fixed receivers are less accurate because some of the unparameterized climate trend is projected onto tile spatially varying harmonics of the sound-speed field. With mobile receivers, the synthetic apertures suppress the projection onto these harmonics. Instead, the unparametrized trend is correctly projected onto the spatially homogeneous portion of the parameterized sound-speed field     

Optimum design of the ocean acoustic tomography system for the Sea of Japan

An ocean acoustic tomography system covering the region of 800×1000 km with the spatial resolution of eddy-resolving scales has been designed on the basis of computer experiments using the hydrographic data collected in the Sea of Japan. The optimum number of acoustic sources required for 20 acoustic receivers was estimated as 13 by changing the source number. The spatial resolution for the optimum system was 41 km smaller than the dominant size of meso-scale eddies in the Sea of Japan. The effect of travel-time errors on tomographic maps is also quantified.     

Ocean acoustic tomography as a data assimilation problem

The ocean acoustic tomographic (OAT) approach to sound speed field estimation is generalized to include a variety of sources of information of interest such as an oceanographic model of the sound speed field, direct local sound speed measurements, and a full field acoustic propagation model as well as measurements. The inverse problem is presented as a four-dimensional field estimation problem using a variational approach commonly used in oceanographic data assimilation. The current OAT approach is shown to be a special case of the general framework. The matched-field tomography (MFT) approach is also discussed within this context. A simple implementation of this novel approach is then investigated in the absence of a suitable oceanographic model, and acoustic propagation is accounted for using a standard parabolic equation model. The inverse equations derived are validated numerically through a simple inversion example, and some issues on environmental mismatch and computations are discussed. The developments then provide a basic framework for ongoing data-model melding in acoustically focused oceanographic sampling (AFOS) network     

Oceanic Rossby waves induced by the meridional shift of the ITCZ in association with ENSO events

This study investigated the eastern Pacific Intertropical Convergence Zone (ITCZ) as an atmospheric forcing to the ocean by using various observed and reanalysis data sets over 29 years. Climatologically, a zonal band of positive wind stress curl (WSC) with a 10° meridional width was exhibited along the ITCZ. A southward shift of the positive WSC band during the El Niño phase induced a negative (positive) WSC anomaly along the northern (southern) portion of the ITCZ, and vice versa during the La Niña phase. This meridional dipole accounted for more than 25 % of interannual variances of the WSC anomalies (WSCAs), based on analysis of the period 1993–2008. The negative (positive) WSCA in the northern portion of the ITCZ during the El Niño (La Niña) phase was collocated with a positive (negative) sea surface height anomaly (SSHA) that propagated westward as a Rossby wave all the way to the western North Pacific. This finding indicates that this off-equatorial Rossby wave is induced by the WSCA around the ITCZ. Our analysis of a 1.5-layer reduced gravity model revealed that the Rossby waves are mostly explained by wind stress forcing, rather than by reflection of an equatorial Kelvin wave on the eastern coastal boundary. The off-equatorial Rossby wave had the same SSHA polarity as the equatorial Kelvin wave, and generation of a phase-preserving Rossby wave without the Kelvin wave reflection was explained by meridional movement of the ITCZ. Thus, the ITCZ acts as an atmospheric bridge that connects the equatorial and off-equatorial oceanic waves.     

Acoustic Measurement of Multisubtidal Internal Modes Generated in Hiroshima Bay, Japan

A coastal acoustic tomography (CAT) experiment with seven acoustic stations was successfully carried out to measure multisubtidal internal modes, generated in Hiroshima Bay, Japan, in spite of severe data gaps due to many oyster aquaculture rafts, accompanied by an array of vertical wire strings for growing oysters and distributed widely over the bay. The travel-time data acquired along five transmission lines with better data acquisition rates in one-way or reciprocal directions are analyzed, focusing on subtidal variations of sound speed (proportional to temperature). Significant multisubtidal internal modes are observed in the period range of 1.0–4.0 h. To specify the source region of internal modes and to estimate their propagation speed and direction, the power-spectral and cross-spectral analyses are applied to the time-series data of range-averaged sound speed along the successful transmission lines. Waves of period ranges 3.8–4.2, 2.0–2.3, and 1.4–1.5 h are identified as the second, third, and fourth modes of long internal waves, respectively, and the first internal mode is attributed to the semidiurnal tide. It is suggested that the source region of internal modes is located in the narrow channel at the northeastern corner of the tomography site and the modes radiate out from the source region, satisfying the propagation parameters (period, phase speed, and propagation direction) determined by this study. The propagation parameters of the subtidal internal modes can also be measured by point temperature sensors, attached to aquaculture rafts with an appropriate arrangement. However, it should be noted that the tomographic technique can confirm temperature variations through a spatial average along each ray path.      

Multimegameter-range acoustic data obtained by bottom-mountedhydrophone arrays for measurement of ocean temperature

Acoustic signals transmitted from the ATOC source on Pioneer Seamount off the coast of California have been received at various sites around the Pacific Basin since January 1996. We describe data obtained using bottom-mounted receivers, including US Navy Sound Surveillance System arrays, at ranges up to 5 Mm from the Pioneer Seamount source. Stable identifiable ray arrivals are observed in several cases, but some receiving arrays are not well suited to detecting the direct ray arrivals. At 5-Mm range, travel-time variations at tidal frequencies (about 50 ms peak to peak) agree well with predicted values, providing verification of the acoustic measurements as well as the tidal model. On the longest and northernmost acoustic paths, the time series of resolved ray travel times show an annual cycle peak-to-peak variation of about 1 s and other fluctuations caused by natural oceanic variability. An annual cycle is not evident in travel times from shorter acoustic paths in the eastern Pacific, though only one realization of the annual cycle is available. The low-pass-filtered travel times are estimated to an accuracy of about 10 ms. This travel-time uncertainty corresponds to errors in range- and depth-averaged temperature of only a few millidegrees, while the annual peak-to-peak variation in temperature averaged horizontally over the acoustic path and vertically over the upper 1 km of ocean is up to 0.5°C     

Temporal resolutions of time-reversal and passive-phase conjugation for underwater acoustic communications

In this paper, we study the temporal resolution of a time-reversal or passive-phase conjugation process as applied to underwater acoustic communications. Specifically, we address 1) the time resolution or the pulse width of a back-propagated time-compressed pulse as compared with the original transmitted pulse; 2) the effectiveness of temporal focusing as measured by the peak-to-sidelobe ratio of the back-propagated or phase-conjugated pulse (both pulse elongation and sidelobe leakages are causes of intersymbol interference and bit errors for communications); 3) the duration of temporal focusing or the temporal coherence time of the underwater acoustic channel; and 4) the stability of temporal focusing as measured by the phase fluctuations of successive pulses (symbols). Binary phase-shift keying signals collected at sea from a fixed source to a fixed receiver are used to extract the above four parameters and are compared with simulated results. Mid-frequency (3-4-kHz) data were collected in a dynamic shallow-water environment, exhibiting high temporal fluctuations over a scale of minutes. Despite this, the channel is found to be highly coherent over a length of 17 s. As a result, only one probe signal is used for 17 s of data. The bit error rate and variance of the symbol phase fluctuations are measured as a function of the number of receivers. They are of the same order as that calculated from the simulated data. The agreement suggests that these two quantities could be modeled for a communication channel with high coherence time. The phase variance can be used to determine the maximum data rate for a phase-shift keying signal for a given signal bandwidth and a given number of receivers.     

Principles of organization of a database on theory of wave processes in the World's Ocean

A conceptual variant for constructing a computer database for the theory of wave processes in the World's Ocean is suggested. Five basic model components have been singled out, namely, acoustic waves, surface waves, internal waves, gyroscopic waves, and Rossby waves. The structure of each block is described. The main principle of organizing the databank consists in dividing the entire variety of wave processes into categories and in generating a hierarchical system of models for each, category, using the principle of transition from general to partial. Translated by Vladimir A. Puchkin.     

Why was the 2008 Indian Ocean Dipole a short-lived event?

In this paper, the role of equatorial oceanic waves in affecting the evolution of the 2008 positive Indian Ocean Dipole (IOD) event was evaluated using available observations and output from a quasi-analytical linear wave model. It was found that the 2008 positive IOD was an early matured and abruptly terminated event: developed in April, matured in July, and diminished in September. During the development and the maturation of the 2008 positive IOD event, the wind-forced Rossby waves played a dominant role in generating zonal current anomalies in the western equatorial Indian Ocean, while a complex interplay between the wind-forced upwelling Kelvin waves and the eastern-boundary-generated Rossby waves accounted for most of the variability in the eastern basin. The latter induced eastward zonal current anomalies near the eastern boundary during the peak phase of the event. The 2008 positive IOD event was abruptly terminated in mid-July. We found that there were strong eastward zonal currents in mid-July, though the surface wind anomalies in the eastern basin continued to be westward (upwelling favorable). Our analysis shows that these eastward zonal currents mainly resulted from the easternboundary-generated upwelling Rossby waves, although the contribution from the wind-forced downwelling Kelvin waves was not negligible. These eastward zonal currents terminated the zonal heat advection and provided a favorable condition for surface heat flux to warm the eastern basin.     

Tomographic reconstruction of shallow water bubble fields

In March of 1997, a shallow water experiment was conducted near the Scripps Pier in La Jolla, CA, USA. The goal was to determine the dynamics, distribution, and acoustic effects of bubbles just offshore from active surf. A major component of the experiment was the “Delta Frame”, an apparatus that supported two acoustic sources and eight receivers. Acoustic intensity was measured at frequencies between 39 and 244 kHz over the resulting 16 horizontal ray paths. Paths ranged in length from 2.5 to 8.6 m. In the present paper, a tomography algorithm is developed and implemented using Delta Frame data. Measurements are combined to produce quantitative cross-sectional images of the attenuation associated with the bubble cloud. Numerical simulations predict that the Frame ran resolve details of the field down to about 2 m. Images constructed at different acoustic frequencies are scaled and compared. A 5-min sequence of images is studied in detail. Swell waves are shown to cause rapid fluctuations in the images     

Numerical simulation of the tropical Pacific response to equatorial wind stress anomalies

The results of the tropical Pacific response to the sudden onset of the equatorial wind stress anomalies are discussed. The ocean model is a barotropic, non-linearized one that includes reduced-gravity and an equation for the temperature of the ocean mixed-layer. The experiments are based on a state of equilibrium reached through a long running under the action of annual mean wind stress. There are two kinds of westward wind intensity regions: the whole tropical Pacific and the western tropical Pacific, which are all between latitude 6. 8癗 and 6. 8癝.In these cases, the results show that the positive sea surface temperature (SST) anomalies in the Eastern Pacific and the negative SST anomalies in the Western Pacific are produced, and the positive SST anomalies propagate eastward, just as those observed during the actual El Nino phenomena. The propagations of the Kelvin waves and Rossby waves in the ocean are discussed.Another experiment is also carried out in simulating the process of the decay of El Ni     

Rossby波模型对西北太平洋海表面高度年际变异的可预测性研究

根据海洋Rossby波的西传特性, 使用一阶斜压Rossby波模型对北太平洋海表面高度的年际变异进行了回报和预测研究。回报结果表明, Rossby 波模型能够较好地模拟北太平洋海表面高度的年际变异。尤其是黑潮延伸区的下游, 模拟结果与卫星观测的相关系数达到0.8以上。预测结果表明, Rossby 波模型在两个纬向分布的海域有显著的预报能力, 分别位于高纬度中部和副热带环流西部。前者可提前5—6年, 后者可提前2—4年。此外, 重点开展了Rossby波模型在西北太平洋的预报能力研究。结果表明, Rossby波模型对中国的边缘海有着很好的预测能力, 包括南海北部、台湾以东和东海黑潮海域, 分别在提前32、40和52个月时能取得最佳的预测效果。     

分层热带海洋模式中的Rossby波和Kelvin波——初始混合层深度异常与大气热力强迫激发波动

利用一个两层半的热带海洋模式,采用数值实验的方法研究了热带海洋对于初始海洋混合层深度异常和大气季节内时间尺度热力强迫激发产生的Ｒｏｓｓｂｙ波和Ｋｅｌｖｉｎ波。研究表明,初始海洋混合层深度异常和大气热力强迫,可以在两层半热带海洋模式中激发产生东向传播具有Ｋｅｌｖｉｎ波性质的波动和具有Ｒｏｓｓｂｙ波性质的波动。热力强迫激发产生海洋Ｒｏｓｓｂｙ波和Ｋｅｌｖｉｎ波所需时间长于初始海洋混合层深度异常和大气季节内动力强迫激发产生两波所需时间,与大气季节内动力强迫激发的Ｒｏｓｓｂｙ波相比,初始深度异常与大气热力强迫激发产生Ｒｏｓｓｂｙ波具有不同的热力性质。     

On Experience in using the remote acoustic method of partial reflections in studies of the lower troposphere

Using the phenomenon of the partial reflection of acoustic waves from anisotropic wind-velocity and temperature inhomogeneities in the lower troposphere is justified in determining the structure of these inhomogeneities. The data (obtained with the method of bistatic acoustic sounding) on signals reflected from stratified inhomogeneities in the lower 600-m layer of the troposphere are given. A detonation-type pulsed acoustic source was used. The methods of isolating a small (in amplitude) reflected signal against the background of noise and determining the reflecting-layer height and the partial-reflection coefficient from the measured parameters (time delay and amplitude) of a reflected signal are presented. The method of estimating the vertical gradients of the effective sound speed and the squared acoustic refractive index from the partial-reflection coefficient previously calculated is described on the basis of an Epstein transition-layer model. The indicated parameters are experimentally estimated for concrete cases of recording reflected signals. A comparison of our estimates with independent analogous data simultaneously obtained for the same parameters with monitoring instruments (a sodar and a temperature profiler) has yielded satisfactory results.     

Calculation of Interannual Variations of Sea Level in the Subtropical North Pacific

The interannual variations of sea level at Chichi-jima and five other islands in the subtropical North Pacific are calculated for 1961–95 with a model of Rossby waves excited by wind. The Rossby-wave forcing is significant east of 140°E. Strong forcing of upwelling (downwelling) Rossby wave occurs during El Niño (La Niña) and warm (cold) water anomaly in the eastern equatorial Pacific. The first and second baroclinic modes of Rossby wave are more strongly generated than the barotropic mode in the study area. A higher vertical mode of Rossby wave propagates more slowly and is more decayed by eddy dissipation. The best coefficient of vertical eddy dissipation is determined by comparing the calculated sea level with observation. The variation in sea level at Chichi-jima is successfully calculated, in particular for the long-term change of the mean level between before and after 1986 with a rise in 1986 as well as the variations with periods of two to four years after 1980. It is concluded that variations of sea level at Chichi-jima are produced by wind-forced Rossby waves, the first baroclinic wave primarily and the barotropic wave secondly. The calculation for other islands is less successful. Degree of the success in calculation almost corresponds to a spatial difference in quantity of wind data, and seems to be determined by quality of wind data.     

Transmission and reflection of the Rossby waves in a stratified ocean with bottom topography

Transmission and reflection coefficients are calculated for Rossby waves incident on a bottom topography with constant slope in a continuously stratified ocean. The characteristics of the coefficients are interpreted in terms of the quasigeostrophic waves on the slope. In the parameter range where only the barotropic Rossby waves can propagate in the region outside the slope, the bottom trapped wave plays the same role as the topographic Rossby wave in a homogeneous ocean, and hence the transmission is weak unless phase matching takes place. When both of the barotropic and baroclinic Rossby waves can propagate outside the slope, the total transmission can be strong. The bottom trapped wave affects the transmission and reflection, and it leads to the possibility that the Rossby wave is transmitted as a mode different from the incident mode. When the number of the wavy modes on the slope is smaller than that of the Rossby wave modes outside the slope, strong reflection occurs.The results for an ocean with linear distribution of the squared Brunt-Väisälä frequency are compared to those in a uniformly stratified ocean. The weakening of the stratification near the bottom is almost equivalent to reducing the effect of the slope.     

Spectral characteristics of Rossby waves in the Northwestern Pacific based on satellite altimetry

Using satellite altimetry measurement data for 1993–2013, we study the spectral characteristics of Rossby waves in the Northwestern Pacific (25°–50° N, 140°–180° E). For each latitude degree, we draw integral plots of spectral power density calculated with a two-dimensional Fourier transform (2D-FFT). We compare the dispersion equations of Rossby waves calculated from the WKB-approximation and an approximation of a two-layer ocean model with the empirical velocities determined by the slope of isopleths by the Radon method; also, we compare the dispersion equations with the spectral distributions of level variations. It is shown that the main energy of Rossby waves in the Northwestern Pacific corresponds to the first baroclinic mode. At almost all latitudes, there is good agreement between the empirical phase velocities calculated by isopleths by the Radon method and the theoretical values; also, the spectral peaks correspond to graphs of the dispersion equations for the first baroclinic mode Rossby waves, except for the Kuroshio region, where some peaks correspond to the second mode.     

Effects of internal waves and turbulence on a horizontal aperturesonar

Random variability in the water column will affect the operation of a horizontal aperture sonar. Two sources of variability in shallow water are turbulence and internal waves. In a modeling study, the effects of turbulence and internal waves on a shallow-water imaging system are compared. The operational principles of a large aperture imaging system are first reviewed. A shallow-water internal wave model is developed by modifying the Garrett-Munk model. The internal waves are assumed to dissipate and drive the small-scale turbulence. The two phenomena are predicted to have markedly different effects on a system. Turbulence has short spatial correlation scales whose primary effects will be manifested in the variance of the acoustic phase. By contrast, internal waves will have much larger scattering but also a longer correlation scale. The primary acoustic quantity of interest for internal waves is shown to be the curvature of the phase as observed along the aperture. Properties of shallow-water internal waves are shown to preclude the use of standard acoustic calculations based on the Markov approximation. Using archival environmental data, sample calculations are presented for the site of a planned August 1996 experiment     

Equatorially trapped Rossby waves in the presence of meridionally sheared baroclinic flow in the Pacific Ocean

TOPEX/POSEIDON altimeter data are analyzed for the 8.5-year period November 1992 to May 2001 to investigate the sea surface height (SSH) and geostrophic velocity signatures of quasi-annual equatorially trapped Rossby waves in the Pacific. The latitudinal structures of SSH and both components of geostrophic velocity are found to be asymmetric about the equator across the entire Pacific with larger amplitude north of the equator. The westward phase speeds are estimated by several different methods to be in the range 0.5-0.6 m s⁻¹. These observed characteristics are inconsistent with the classical theory for first vertical, first meridional mode equatorially trapped Rossby waves, which predicts a phase speed of about 0.9 m s⁻¹ with latitudinally symmetric structures of SSH and zonal velocity and antisymmetric structure of meridional velocity. The observations are even less consistent with the latitudinal structures of SSH and geostrophic velocity components for other modes of the classical theory.The latitudinal asymmetries deduced here have also been consistently observed in past analyses of subsurface thermal data and altimeter data and have been variously attributed to sampling errors in the observational data, a superposition of multiple meridional Rossby wave modes, asymmetric forcing by the wind, and forcing by cross-equatorial southerly winds in the eastern Pacific. We propose a different mechanism to account for the observed asymmetric latitudinal structure of low-frequency equatorial Rossby waves. From the free-wave solutions of a simple 1.5-layer model, it is shown that meridional shears in the mean equatorial current system significantly alter the potential vorticity gradient in the central and eastern tropical Pacific. The observed asymmetric structures of sea surface height and geostrophic velocity components are found to be a natural consequence of the shear modification of the potential vorticity gradient. The mean currents also reduce the predicted westward phase speed of first meridional mode Rossby waves, improving consistency with the observations.