Vertical Directionality of Midfrequency Surface Noise in Downward-Refracting Environments

The vertical directionality of ambient noise due to surface agitation for frequencies between 2 and 5 kHz propagated to a subsurface receiver has a characteristic shape, knowledge of which may enhance shallow-water operations. In general, the noise level is highest at upward-looking angles and attenuated at downward-looking angles depending on the nature of the bottom. In environments with a negative profile gradient, the noise level is also greatly reduced in a low-angle shadow zone or "notch" at angles around horizontal. This paper reviews the character of vertical noise directionality by examining two measured data sets and considering the underlying physical mechanisms that drive the form of the distribution. A discussion of the implications of vertical noise directionality for design and operation of receiving sonar systems is presented. In particular, the effect of mainlobe beamwidth and sidelobe suppression are considered along with the directionality of the noise field. Finally, an overview of the derivation of a vertical noise model based on the integrated mode method of propagation prediction is followed by model reproduction of measurements.     

High-frequency ambient noise and its impact on underwater tracking ranges

A theoretical model for the vertical directionality and depth dependence of high frequency (8 to 50 kHz) ambient noise in the deep ocean is developed. The anisotropic noise field at a variety of depths and frequencies is evaluated and displayed. It was found that at high frequencies and deep depths, a bottom-mounted hydrophone receives the maximum noise energy from overhead rather than from the horizontal. This leads to the consideration of an oblate hydrophone receiving response pattern for underwater tracking ranges that would provide a constant signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) for an acoustic source located anywhere in a circular area centered above the hydrophone. Two of the desirable characteristics of this type of pattern are the increase in receiving range of a bottom-mounted sensor and the decrease of the dynamic range of signals that a signal processor must handle.     

Deep-ocean vertical noise directionality

The structure of beam noise measured at the output of a vertical array in a range dependent ocean basin was investigated using the modified wide-angle parabolic equation (PE). Noise sources were distributed throughout the basin, and the field due to each noise source at an array located in the midbasin was calculated. The response of the array to the superposition of the noise sources was found by beamforming. An efficient and direct approach that superimposes the noise sources on the PE field as the field is marched toward the array was developed. Downslope calculations of the midbasin vertical directionality were made between 50 and 400 Hz with this technique. Use of a geoacoustic model shows that the bottom behaves as a low-pass filter     

Measured vertical noise directionality at five sites in the Western North Atlantic

Solutions were computed for the vertical ambient sea noise field directionality at five sites in the Western North Atlantic Ocean using data from a 26-hydrophone element array with a 358.4-foot aperture at a center depth of 1,000 feet. Results show that the low-frequency noise below 100 Hz is concentrated near the horizontal (50 to 93 percent of the noise power between /spl plusmn/15/spl deg/ of horizontal) and is apparently dependent on bottom loss and shipping density. The results in the band 200 to 380 Hz are a combination of sea state and shipping noise dependent. A noise field solution technique was developed involving noise cross spectral matrix inversions. This technique overcomes some of the drawbacks of previous techniques such as least mean square estimation and successive approximations.     

海面噪声场条件下声压与振速的空间互相关函数

介绍了海面噪声场条件下的声压与质点振速的时空相关函数。论证了海面噪声场垂直与水平方向噪声的各向异性程度。结果表明,在垂直于海平面的方向上,噪声场表现为各向异性;在与海面的水平方向上,噪声场表现为各向同性。结果表明,各向同性噪声场条件下基于矢量水听器被动检测的声纳系统目标水平方位角估计是基本可靠的,但垂直方位角的计算需要修正。     

Ambient Noise Vertical Directionality and Reflection Loss Estimates for a Shallow Tropical Site with a Fast Sound Speed Bottom

Abstract

For high frequency ocean acoustic modeling applications, seabed reflection loss is a useful alternative input compared to conventional geoacoustic model parameters. Reflection loss can be estimated by comparing the noise intensity of the up and down components of the ambient noise vertical directionality pattern. The potential of this method is demonstrated with experimental data spanning one week, collected off shallow east coast of India using a 21 element vertical hydrophone array. The compact and easily operable vertical array has been designed for high frequency directionality estimation in the band 2–10?kHz. The ambient noise data are beam formed to arrive at the vertical directionality pattern. Further reflection loss values as a function of frequency and grazing angle have been estimated for 1/3 octave bands for a sandy sea bed in warm tropical waters. This has been compared with modeled reflection loss estimates using OASR reflection loss module of OASES. This will serve as inputs to propagation models for applications such as inverse techniques, ambient noise modelling, and sonar system performance prediction.     

Vertical directionality of ambient noise at 32°N as a functionof longitude and wind speed

Measurements of the ambient-noise field between 50 and 300 Hz with vertical arrays at 32°N (124°W, 136°W, and 150°W) have been made. Substantial differences in the vertical distribution of noise have been measured (especially at the higher frequencies), which can be interpreted in the context of attenuation by seawater sound absorption of coastal shipping noise. Under low wind-speed conditions, the vertical distribution of ambient noise is clearly concentrated within approximately ±15° of the horizontal. High wind speed has the effect of filling in the higher vertical angles, while leaving the level within the low-angular region unchanged     

Depth dependence of ambient noise

Omnidirectional measurements of ambient noise versus depth in the Caribbean, Mediterranean, Arctic, Pacific, and Atlantic areas are presented. The shapes of the vertical ambient noise profiles spanning the water column at frequencies from 25 to 500 Hz are shown to be heavily influenced by passing ships. The qualitative features of average noise profiles measured by mid-water hydrophones can be explained with the aid of a straightforward model, and it is concluded that low-frequency omnidirectional ambient noise depth dependence is predictable. The sensitivity of the vertical noise profile to passing ships, coupled with noise predictability suggests that surveillance could be effected by a vertical string of hydrophones without coherent processing in areas of relatively light shipping.     

Measuring directional wave spectra using the 3D-ACM WAVE on fixedand taut-wire moorings

Field data were analyzed from a simultaneous deployment of two 3D-ACM WAVE instruments; one on a fixed seabed frame in the nearshore zone, and the other further offshore on a taut-wire mooring. An intercomparison of measurements of vertical and horizontal wave-orbital currents with pressures was used to evaluate the velocity sensor response under field conditions. Results using the fixed frame have validated the measured horizontal wave-orbital velocities, but found the vertical velocities to be less coherent with the pressure time-series. The influence of the instrument mooring system on the velocity measurements was investigated. The oscillation of the taut-wire mooring was found to influence the magnitude of the measured horizontal wave-orbital velocities and induce a phase lag between velocity and sea-surface elevation. Examination of other data from similar taut-wire moorings indicates a systematic relationship between the length of the mooring cable and the measured phase lag, consistent with the behavior of the mooring system considered as a forced, linearly damped oscillator. A comparison was made between the spectra of wave direction derived from both velocity and pressure data with that derived solely from velocity data. The results show a high coherence for the fixed mooring, but significant directional variability in the higher frequencies (>0.13 Hz) on the taut-wire mooring we employed, which we attribute to the mooring oscillation. The analysis further indicates that on taut-wire moorings, the spectra of wave direction should be resolved solely from velocity data. Using these findings, directional wave spectra were produced for the nearshore and offshore sites from 233 coincident events over a two-month period, and these data are presented in a time-averaged spectral format     

Estimation of Seabed Properties Using Ambient Noise from Shallow Water Sites of the Indian Continental Shelf

In this study an attempt has been made to extract sediment geoacoustic properties using ambient noise measured from a vertical hydrophone array. Time series noise data recorded from three shallow water sites (Chennai, Cuddalore and Cochin) along the Indian continental shelf were used for the analysis. The compressional sound speed of sediment for all the sites was estimated from the vertical directionality of ambient noise. Using the value of the compressional sound speed remaining wave properties and material properties were deduced from the Grain-Shearing (G-S) theory of wave propagation in saturated granular media. The type of sediment extracted from the G-S theory correlates well with the results obtained from sieve and particle size analysis of grab samples, collected from all the sites. The study clearly shows the application of ambient noise in extracting environmental information in shallow water, and further applying it to improve sonar performance modeling.     

Beam noise characteristics

Beam-noise spectrum levels were measured with high-resolution horizontal arrays of 22 to 100 wavelengths long at frequencies between 50 and 320 Hz in the Mediterranean Sea. Results indicate that the low-frequency noise field has two major components one of which is due to the dynamic and temporally variable distant shipping. Beam noise level differences of 10 to 20 dB were observed between the resolved distant shipping and the uncorrelated background noise. The measured distributions of beam-noise-intensity fluctuations were found to be non-Gaussian. The beam-noise-intensity distribution was found to depend on aperture length, frequency, bandwidth, integration time, and steering angle. The shapes of the beam-noise-intensity cumulative distribution functions were variable and qualitatively described by nonhomogeneous compound Poisson process as shown with a simulation of the shipping-induced noise field. Temporal characteristics of beam-noise-intensity fluctuations were found to have noise level fades at 30% probability below the median noise level with durations of 1 h for observations over 10 h.     

Computation of the inertia-dominated forces on horizontal circular cylinders placed in oblique waves and near to a plane bed

Wave-force coefficients of horizontal circular cylinders inclined with respect to the incoming waves, are studied numerically under conditions when the effects of flow separation are insignificant. The mathematical model is set in terms of a boundary-value problem for the velocity potential of the wave, which is formulated under the assumption of the linear diffraction theory, and solved numerically by the boundary element method. The numerical calculations are performed in the vertical plane, assuming uniform water depths in the direction along the axis of the cylinder. A first-order correction to the pressures is introduced to take account of the asymmetry of the velocity field around the cylinder when it is close to the plane bed. The correction procedure is found to be highly effective in computing the transverse forces for small gap ratios. The numerical results show that irrespective of the values of the gap ratio, the in-line forces are always sensitive to the wave directionality. The transverse forces, however, show sensitivity only for the smaller gap ratios. It is also shown that by accounting for the wave directionality effects in the wave kinematics only, the forces could be estimated to a certain extent by using the hydrodynamic force coefficients of inertia and lift corresponding to the normal waves.     

Geoacoustic Inversions of Horizontal and Vertical Line Array Acoustic Data From a Surface Ship Source of Opportunity

The application of an inversion methodology produces the first demonstration of a simultaneous solution for geoacoustic and source track parameters from acoustic data collected in a shallow-water, sandy sediment environment. Inversion solutions from data collected in the 2006 Shallow Water Experiment (SW06) are extracted from noise measurements of a surface ship source on an L-array. The methodology includes a screening algorithm to determine a set of frequencies for the inversion data. In addition, the methodology assesses the accuracy of the inversion solution and incorporates an estimation of parameter value uncertainties. The solution from the inversion of the horizontal component of the L-array data from the surface ship source before its closest point of approach (CPA) is used to construct modeled propagation loss for comparison with observed received level (RL) structure as the source departs from CPA. Inversion of the data from a single element in the vertical component of the L-array produces a solution that agrees with the solution obtained from the inversion of horizontal subaperture data. Also, modeled transmission loss (TL) structure obtained from the single-element inversion solution reproduces the depth dependence of the RL structure observed at other elements of the vertical component of the L-array.      

近海海上风电场水下噪声传播模型适用性研究

通过现场采集近海海上风电场工程区运营期风机水下噪声和背景噪声数据,计算了噪声信号的倍频带声压级,功率谱级和峰值声压级,确定了海上风电场水下噪声总声源级为148.3 d B,以此开展近海海上风电工程风机水下噪声频域特性、功率密度谱特性等研究。在此基础上使用Kraken简正波模型和Bellhop射线模型对风电场运营期风机水下噪声在水平与垂直方向上的传播进行模拟,模拟了噪声在不同频带内的衰减程度,结果显示模型模拟结果在不同频率下的衰减趋势有着很大差异,产生了明显的多途干涉现象,通过实测数据对建立的噪声传播模型进行验证,发现Kraken简正波模型在500 Hz以下,Bellhop射线模型在500 Hz以上适合模拟实际水下噪声传播情形,同时海区本身背景噪声的存在会对预测的准确性产生影响。这些结论可用于进一步对近海海上风电场水下噪声传播的研究。     

基于本征正交分解的湍流去噪

在近岸河口湍流研究中,实测的湍流资料往往容易受到噪声的影响,导致湍流特征量的估算出现偏差。本征正交分解是一种将流场在能量上进行分解再重构的方法,基于该方法,结合数值实验和野外实测资料,对包含噪声的湍流数据进行了去噪处理。结果表明：（1）本征正交分解能有效去除湍流中的噪声。在进行信号重构时,应将保留能量的百分比与湍流能量占比保持一致。去噪的效果与噪声占比有关,噪声占比越高,去噪效果越明显。（2）在实测资料中,憩流时刻的噪声占比要显著大于非憩流时刻,水平方向的噪声占比要大于垂直方向。经过本征正交分解去噪后,各湍流特征量的估算更加合理。     

Multichannel moment detectors for transients in shallow-water noise

This paper presents an evaluation of second, third, and fourth-order moments for the passive detection of transient signals in both simulated Gaussian noise and measured noise. The measured noise was recorded by a vertical array located near the San Diego, CA, harbor and is dominated at low frequencies by ship-generated noise. The detectors assume neither noise nor signal stationarity and can use single or multiple channels of data. Simulation results indicate that the fourth-order moment detector often performs better than the energy detector in the correlated measured noise, with increasing channel contributions to the moment function, resulting in increased gain. The results in simulated Gaussian noise likewise favor the fourth-order moment detector, at least for the signals with significant fourth-order moments, but the ability of the higher order detector to discriminate against correlated noise is evident. Analysis over a 30-min segment of the measured noise with selected signals demonstrates that fourth-order detection gains can be reliably expected as the noise statistics change.     

基于大涡模拟和局部滤波同化方法的海洋环流模式

结合最小二乘法极值原理,提出了一种基于局部谱展开的滤波同化方法,把测量数据和数值计算过程中出现的高频短波滤掉,并将高度计数据同化到了求解过程中.结果既增加了数值稳定性,又提高了数值模拟的准确性.针对在海洋环流问题中水平的流动性质和垂直的不同的特点,我们还将大涡模拟的思想和直接涡黏的思想分别应用于水平方向和垂直方向,给出的方法是一种适用于海洋环流和浅水环流问题的大涡模拟湍流模式.对热带和北太平洋一年四季非定常季风作用下环流的数值模拟表明,提出的方法非常有效,数值结果与实际相当吻合.     

Vertical structure of the quasi-two-dimensional velocity field of a viscous incompressible flow and the problem of nonlinear friction

An approximate theory is constructed to describe quasi-two-dimensional viscous incompressible flows. This theory takes into account a weak circulation in the vertical plane and the related divergence of the two-dimensional velocity field. The role of the nonlinear terms that are due to the interaction between the vortex and potential components of velocity and the possibility of taking into account the corresponding effects in the context of the concept of bottom friction are analyzed. It is shown that the nonlinear character of friction is a consequence of the three-dimensional character of flow, which results in the effective interaction of vortices with vertical and horizontal axes. An approximation of the effect of this interaction in quasi-two-dimensional equations is obtained with the use of the coefficient of nonlinear friction. The results based on this approximation are compared to the data of laboratory experiments on the excitation of a spatially periodic fluid flow.     

Experimental investigation of the wave-interaction mechanism forambient noise

An experimental investigation of the wave-interaction mechanism for wind-generated ambient noise is presented. Predictions based on dispersion theory for frequencies above 10 Hz fall below experimental data and do not account for wind-speed dependence. The discrepancy may rest either in the linear wave-model or the mechanism. Laboratory measurements of wind waves show low spatial coherence and no evidence of dispersion at high frequencies, suggesting that the surface dynamics are more like convective turbulence than linear waves. While spectral estimates based on this model do not yet account for field data, the effects of nonlinear phenomena noted in the experiments remain to be examined     

A signal-to-noise model for ELF propagation in subsurface regions

Measurements of the natural extremely low-frequency (ELF) radio noise (known as Schumann resonances) in the period 1988-1989 have enabled average atmospheric noise levels and Schumann resonance parameters to be deduced. At 45 Hz, the average measured electric field was 41.6 dB·μV/m·√(Hz). It is assumed that the Schumann resonance noise field in the air-space in the vicinity of the observation point can be considered to be represented as the sum of four components, one arising from propagation over a short great-circle path, and a second representing a long great-circle path contribution, each of these having an upgoing and a downgoing part. The noise fields can then be estimated at any given depth below the ground (or sea) surface from the measured values in the air. The authors present results showing the computed fields produced in the sea from submerged horizontal electric quadrupole and vertical electric dipole man-made sources, and compare these with the subsurface atmospheric noise fields deduced from the experimental measurements