Seabed Characterization for SW2013 Mid-Frequency Reverberation Experiment

The observational approach is based on direct path measurements of seabed reflection. The key advantages of this approach are: high resolution (0.1 m vertically, 1-10 m laterally); relatively modest uncertainties (due to short path lengths) from the space/time varying oceanography and biology; and that low source levels are possible. The main challenge is that water depth, 20 m, is 4 times smaller than what has been achieved in the past which poses challenges for multipath separation and separation of angle dependence from lateral variability. The latter problem arises due to the small Fresnel zone size coupled with the shorter lateral variability scales that occur for inner shelf environments.