Mean and variance of the forward field propagated through three-dimensional random internal waves in a continental-shelf waveguide

The mean and variance of the acoustic field forward propagated through a stratified ocean waveguide containing three-dimensional 3-D random internal waves is modeled using an analytic normal mode formulation. The formulation accounts for the accumulated effects of multiple forward scattering. These lead to redistribution of both coherent and incoherent modal energies, including attenuation and dispersion. The inhomogeneous medium’s scatter function density is modeled using the Rayleigh-Born approximation to Green’s theorem to account for random fluctuations in both density and compressibility caused by internal waves. The generalized waveguide extinction theorem is applied to determine attenuation due to scattering from internal wave inhomogeneities. Simulations for typical continental-shelf environments show that when internal wave height exceeds the acoustic wavelength, the acoustic field becomes so randomized that the expected total intensity is dominated by the field variance beyond moderate ranges. This leads to an effectively saturated field that decays monotonically and no longer exhibits the periodic range-dependent modal interference structure present in nonrandom waveguides. Three-dimensional scattering effects can become important when the Fresnel width approaches and exceeds the cross-range coherence length of the internal wave field. Density fluctuations caused by internal waves are found to noticably affect acoustic transmission in certain Arctic environments. © 2005 Acoustical Society of America. DOI: 10.1121/1.1993107