Quantifying Geoacoustic Uncertainty and Seabed Variability for Propagation Uncertainty

Propagation and reverberation of acoustic fields in shallow waters depend strongly on the spatial variability of seabed geoacoustic parameters, and lack of knowledge of seabed variability is often a limiting factor in acoustic modeling applications. However, direct sampling (e.g., coring) of vertical and lateral variability is expensive and laborious, and matched-field and other long-range inversion methods fail to provide sufficient resolution. The long-term goal of this work is to use a Bayesian inversion approach in combination with seabed reflectivity data to investigate and quantify spatial variability of seabed sediments in two and three dimensions. For proper quantitative examination of spatial variability, it is important to differentiate between parameter estimate uncertainty, model parameterization effects, and actual spatial variability.