Numerical analysis of three-dimensional acoustic propagation in the Catoche Tongue

Abstract

Analysis of modeled time series data is presented to provide insight into propagation physics of horizontally refracted sound in the Catoche Tongue region of the Gulf of Mexico. The analysis is motivated by the observation of out-of-plane arrivals in measured time series data. In particular, the extended duration of the refracted arrivals is shown to be caused by interaction with multiple locations along the steep sides of the Tongue. Comparison of the modeled time series is made to previous work by Sturm [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 117(3), 1058-1079 (2005)], who examined the frequency dependence of out-of-plane modal arrivals for the wedge-shaped ocean.

A Study on the Estimation of Source Bearing in an ASA Wedge: Diminishing the Estimation Error Caused by Horizontal Refraction

“…It has been demonstrated, both experimentally [1][2][3][4][5][6] and theoretically [6][7][8][9][10][11], that in a three-dimensional (3D) oceanic waveguide, the horizontal refraction of the sound waves can be non-negligible. The manifestations of horizontal refraction are various and have been extensively studied for a few decades, for which the readers are referred to a special issue of papers on 3D underwater acoustics [12] and the references therein.…”