Enhanced Sonar Array Target Localization Using Time-Frequency Interference Phenomena

The ability of traditional active sonar processing methods to detect targets is often limited by clutter and reverberation from ocean environments. Similarly, multipath arrivals from radiating sources such as ships and submarines are received at sensors in passive sonar systems. Reverberation and multipath signals introduce constructive and destructive interference patterns in received spectrograms in both active and passive sonar applications that vary with target range and frequency. The characterization and use of interference phenomena can provide insights into environmental parameters and target movement in conjunction with standard processing methods including spectrograms and array beamforming. This thesis focuses on utilizing the time-frequency interference structure of moving targets captured on sonar arrays to enhance the resolution and abilities of conventional sonar methods to detect and localize targets. Physics-based methods for interferencebased beamforming and target depth separation are presented with application of these methods shown using broadband simulated array data.