Acoustic telemetry for ocean acoustic tomography

Very low data rate burst telemetry for long-range deep-ocean applications is discussed. Energy efficiency, propagation coherence, and waveform coding, together with transmitter constraints, influenced the design of proposed buoy-to-buoy and buoy-to-shore systems.     

Vertical synthetic aperture sonar for ocean acoustic tomography

This paper presents the result of a first attempt to achieve a vertical synthetic aperture in the ocean for SOFAR multipath identification. The experiment was conducted during the deployment of a tomographic array in the Mediterranean Sea. Drifting the hydrophone up or down from a ship while listening to the transmitted signal created a powerful synthetic aperture at 400 Hz. Wide-band phase-coded signals, typically used in ocean tomography, were found suitable for this application. The displacement length was 100 m and the hydrophone velocity 1 m/s. The obtained resolution of 1° enabled all the rays in the tested middle range configuration to be resolved and identified. Most of them could not have been resolved with a static hydrophone. Several Doppler processing methods are presented. The narrowband approximation leading to fast algorithms is discussed. Phase time series of individual paths obtained with an array-like wave separation method show that the phase coherence of the different multipaths is nearly perfect. An angle/velocity calibration method and a first rough inversion are finally presented     

A sound projector for acoustic tomography and global ocean monitoring

Long-range underwater acoustic systems, such as those used in ocean acoustic tomography, require low-frequency signals covering a broad frequency band. To meet this requirement, a novel design based on a tunable narrow-band high-efficiency sound projector has been used. The projector transmits a frequency sweep signal by mechanically tuning a resonator tube (or organ pipe) to match the frequency and phase of a reference signal. The resonator tube projector consists of a symmetrical pressure-balanced Tonpilz driver placed between two coaxially mounted tubes. The Tonpilz acoustic driver is composed of two pistons separated by preloaded ceramic stacks. The resonant tube is a simple, efficient, narrow-band, medium-output projector that operates at any ocean depth. Both projector tubes have slots (or vents) which are progressively covered or uncovered by sliding coaxial tubular sleeves. The frequency varies with the sleeve position. A computer-controlled electromechanical actuator moves the cylindrical sleeves along the tubes, keeping the projector in resonance at the instantaneous frequency of a swept frequency signal. The actuator smoothly tunes the resonator tube frequency in a bandwidth of 200 to 300 Hz during a 135-s transmission. A computer synthesizes the linear frequency-modulated signal; compares the phase between transmitted and reference signals; and, using a phase-lock loop (PLL) system, keeps the resonator tube frequency in resonance with the driver frequency. The estimated PLL precision is better than 3/spl deg/ phase error. The system was analyzed by means of finite element analysis and electrical equivalent circuit simulation. The projector prototype was first tested at the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) dock in Woods Hole, MA and later in the Pacific Ocean during a voyage of the R/V "Point Sur" in November 2001.     

海洋声层析观测技术和方法

叙述海洋声层析观测系统,以声线传播时间层析为重点概括了海洋声层析的基本原理和其他主要方法,共6个方法。对运用海洋声层析观测来反演海洋状态问题的建立、求解及其误差来源作了分析和讨论。以测量声线传播时间为例介绍了海洋声层析观测系统主要设计技术。     

Simulating ocean acoustic tomography measurements with Hamiltonian ray tracing

Tomographers map mesoscale ocean structure by inverting acoustic travel-time measurements through networks of underwater paths. To know where to deploy sensors and how to interpret their measurements, one must first understand the "forward problem," that is, how the sound channel and mesoscale features refract sound in three dimensions, and how such refraction alters the pulse-arrival sequence. We use a Hamiltonian ray-tracing program called HARPO to compute the refraction by continuous three-dimensional ocean models and to display the results in ways that add insight about refractive effects. We first simulate propagation in a simple range-independent sound channel, showing how pulse-arrival sequence depends on channel parameters and sensor placement. Next, we add linear range dependence and show that it is hard to extract range information from pulse measurements at one range. Finally, we add a simple model of a mesoscale eddy including its currents and show that deflection and splitting of the sound channel significantly alter the pulse-arrival sequence. Two diagrams that have not been widely used before are useful ways to display the arrival-time and ray-focusing perturbations caused by changes in ocean structure: they are plots of range versus launch angle and range versus travel time. Examples of azimuthal deflection, three-dimensional eigenrays, and reciprocal propagation through eddy currents are shown, and simplified methods for estimating the travel time of three-dimensional eigenrays are evaluated.     

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.     

Long-term measurement of temperature variabilities off Mindanao Island by the ocean acoustic tomography

Oceanic variabilities off Mindanao Island, Philippines where the North Equatorial Current branches into the Kuroshio and the Mindanao Current were measurerd for a period from 14 Feb.–1 Jun. 1992 by the oceean acoustic tomography (OAT). From the beginning of April, the travel time of acoustic rays propagating over a horizontal distance of about 250km, through the depth range of 80–4700 m around the underwater sound channel began to decrease, implying a warming of water. This variability was also confirmed with the results of temperature measurement at the sites where a sound source and receiver were located. The TOGA/TAO array data show that the OAT experiment was done when the 1991–1992 El Nino was at a decaying stage and the resulting warming-up of water occurred at the western Pacific. This study provides us a first evidence of ENSO-related variabilities detected by the OAT.     

Digital waveform codings for ocean acoustic telemetry

M-sequence waveform coding with a single long codeword has been considered as the basis for long-range underwater acoustic telemetry for one user. (An m-sequence is a periodic, binary, linear-law maximal-length sequence. If the span of the law is n, the maximal length L-2ⁿ=1). For a given law, a single m-sequence transmits a maximum of log₂ (L) bits of source information per channel word. To increase the number of bits per word, families of m-sequences and Gold codes are considered and compared to a single m-sequence. A hypothetical idealized multipath channel with added white Gaussian noise is assumed. Coding using families of m-sequences is recommended because it requires a smaller bit-energy-to-noise ratio than other waveform codes to achieve an equivalent codeword error probability     

Performance of sequential decoding of convolutional codes overfully fading ocean acoustic channels

Sequential decoding of long-constraint convolutional codes is shown to be a feasible technique for digital data telemetry over realistic marine acoustic channels. A computational bound for sequential decoding over a fading dispersive channel is derived for hardlimiting and quantizing decoders. The results indicate that a minimum of 8 dB of bit SNR (signal-to-noise ratio) is required for sequential decoder operation. Simulations indicate that 14-dB bit SNR results in simple and feasible implementations. Diversity methods for coded transmissions over Rayleigh fading channels are examined. The optimal diversity level for minimum error probability of uncoded systems and the diversity level of minimizing the sequential decoder computational load are derived and shown to be different, with the latter requiring a higher order of diversity. Performance differences between fixed-diversity and optimal-diversity systems are presented     

Improved empirical descriptions for acoustic surface backscatter inthe ocean

Using Signals, Underwater Sound (SUS) explosive charges as broad-band acoustic sources, a high-quality set of surface scattering strengths was measured throughout the Critical Sea Test (CST) experiments. These measurements were made for wind speeds ranging from ~1 to 18 m/s and covered grazing angles from ~5° to 30° and frequencies from ~60 to 1000 Hz. A new empirical algorithm was developed based on a multiparameter multidimensional nonlinear fit to all the SUS data from CST-1 through CST-7. This new algorithm returns the surface scattering strength for a given frequency, grazing angle, and wind speed. The new formulation explored the use of backaveraging the wind speeds in time (as opposed to using the instantaneous wind speed) to allow for the influence of processes driven by the wind history, In this paper, details of the development of this new algorithm will be discussed, comparisons with earlier prediction algorithms (the Ogden-Erskine and Chapman-Harris algorithms) will be made, and the important differences between the various CST SUS data sets will be highlighted and possible explanations offered. Finally, suggestions for further improvements to the algorithm are made     

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     

波浪驱动式海洋要素垂直剖面持续测量搭载系统

新型海洋要素观测平台能够提升人类对海洋进行持续现场监测的能力.设计并实现了一种借助于波浪能量进行驱动的海洋要素垂直剖面测量搭载系统.对系统的总体构成与工作原理、各部件的设计制作过程、以及系统海试的情况作了论述.海试结果表明,系统设计初步达到了预期的目的,实现无人值守情况下对海洋要素垂直剖面的持续长期观测.     

Nonreflected vertical propagation of acoustic waves in a strongly inhomogeneous atmosphere

Using the linear theory of waves in a compressible atmosphere located in a gravitational field, we found a family of sound speed profiles for which the wave field can be represented by a traveling wave with no reflection. The vertical flux of wave energy on these nonreflected profiles is retained, which proves that the energy transfer may occur over long distances.     

Infrasonic seismic and acoustic measurements in the deep ocean

The authors compare the signal-to-noise ratios obtained on bottomed seismometers, bottomed hydrophones, and buried seismometers from near-surface explosions in the Ngendei Expedition. The data were recorded in 5.5-km-deep water in the south central Pacific Ocean with a triaxial borehole seismograph and four triaxial ocean-bottom seismographs having externally mounted hydrophones. At ranges less than 35 km, the data indicate that the ocean bottom seismometer is a superior signal detector than the ocean-bottom hydrophone, and that the subbottom seismometer is superior in performance to the ocean-bottom seismometer. Above 4 Hz, the seismometer appears to have a 10-dB signal-to-noise advantage over the hydrophone for surface explosions at ranges less than 30 km     

海洋模式中垂直混合参数化方案介绍

介绍了海洋垂直混合过程参数化方案的发展,以及不同参数化方案在海洋模式中的应用情况。首先,介绍不同垂直混合参数化方案的物理问题、理论依据、数学表达和特征,并对不同参数化方案进行了比较。其次,针对中尺度涡、亚中尺度涡以及波浪、潮流混合参数化的最新研究进展进行了总结并对垂直混合参数化的未来发展提出了一些建议。     

Effects of seabed properties on acoustic wave fields in a seismo-acoustic ocean waveguide

Acoustic wave fields in an ocean waveguide with a sediment layer having continuously varying density and sound speed overlying an elastic subbottom are considered in this analysis. The objective of this study is to investigate the effects of seabed acoustic properties, including the density and sound speed of the sediment layer and subbottom, on the characteristics of the wave fields. Examination of the reflection coefficient, wavenumber spectrum, and noise intensity of the sound field through numerical analysis has shown that the variation in the acoustic properties in the sediment layer is an important factor in determining the reflected or noise sound fields. In particular, the sediment thickness-to-wavelength ratio and the types of variation of acoustic properties inside the layer give rise to many characteristics that potentially allow for acoustic inversion of the seabed properties. With regard to the wave-field components in a shallow-water environment, the various types of waves existing in a seismo-acoustic waveguide have been illustrated. The results indicate that the effects of the sediment properties on the wavenumber spectrum are primarily on the continuous and evanescent regimes of the wave field. The noise intensity generated by distributive random monopoles at various depths, together with the effect of refractive sound-speed distribution in the water column, has been obtained and analyzed.     

An analysis of mechanisms for submesoscale vertical motion at ocean fronts

We analyze model simulations of a wind-forced upper ocean front to understand the generation of near-surface submesoscale, O(1 km), structures with intense vertical motion. The largest vertical velocities are in the downward direction; their maxima are situated at approximately 25 m depth and magnitudes exceed 1 mm/s or 100 m/day. They are correlated with high rates of lateral strain, large relative vorticity and the loss of geostrophic balance. We examine several mechanisms for the formation of submesoscale structure and vertical velocity in the upper ocean. These include: (i) frontogenesis, (ii) frictional effects at fronts, (iii) mixed layer instabilities, (iv) ageostrophic anticyclonic instability, and (v) nonlinear Ekman effects. We assess the role of these mechanisms in generating vertical motion within the nonlinear, three-dimensionally evolving flow field of the nonhydrostatic model. We find that the strong submesoscale down-welling in the model is explained by nonlinear Ekman pumping and is also consistent with the potential vorticity arguments that analogize down-front winds to buoyancy-forcing. Conditions also support the formation of ageostrophic anticyclonic instabilities, but the contribution of these is difficult to assess because the decomposition of the flow into balanced and unbalanced components via semigeostrophic analysis breaks down at O(1) Rossby numbers. Mixed layer instabilities do not dominate the structure, but shear and frontogenesis contribute to the relative vorticity and strain fields that generate ageostrophy.     

Reciprocal acoustic transmissions: Instrumentation for Mesoscale monitoring of ocean currents

By simultaneously transmitting acoustic pulses in opposite directions between two points in midocean, one can separate the effects of ocean currents on acoustic propagation from the effects of sound-speed structure. Reciprocal acoustic transmissions can therefore be used to measure ocean currents. Acoustic transceivers have been designed and built to measure the mean currents between two points separated by 300 km. The equipment functioned satisfactorily during a sbort test conducted during 1983. Preliminary analysis of that experiment has yielded differential travel times that appear reasonable, but more work is required to relate the differential travel times to meaningful ocean-current estimates.     

海洋混合层结构对表面声道中声传播特性的影响分析

利用WOA05气候态数据集和北黄海调查数据,应用BELLHOP高斯束射线模型分析了我国近海及西太平洋典型海区的混合层结构对表面声道中声传播特性的影响,结果表明:我国近海的混合层结构有显著的区域性和季节性变化;深海中主要表现为混合层深度变化,这种变化直接影响表面声道的空间分布,声波在混合层中的表面声道中传播与在混合层外的影区中传播产生的能量场差异较大;浅海中混合层深度与声速梯度的空间变化都很明显,声速梯度的增大和混合层的加深都能使更多声线以反转的形式传播,使表面声道声场增强。两组海上实验数据表明,在真实海洋中混合层可在短时间内出现生消变化或在局部海域出现非均匀分布。在浅海温跃层环境下,海-气边界特定的物理过程能够使混合层发生间歇性的变化,当表面声道出现时近表层声场明显增强。