Coupled Ocean Acoustics And Physical Oceanography Observations in the South China Sea: The NPS Acoustic Component

Abstract

My long-term research objectives are: (1) The characterization of meso to internal-wave-scale oceanographic processes that influence broadband sound transmissions in a coastal environment. Central to the characterization are the formulation of accurate forward relations and the quantification of the sensitivities and variability of the various observable acoustic quantities in relation to environmental differences and changes. (2) The development and improvement of high-resolution tomographic inverse techniques for measuring the dynamics and kinematics of meso and finer-scale sound speed structure and ocean currents in coastal regions. (3) The understanding of three-dimensional sound propagation physics including horizontal refraction and azimuthal coupling and the quantification of the importance of these complex physics in the prediction of sound signals transmitted over highly variable littoral regions.