3D Propagation and Geoacoustic Inversion Studies in the Mid-Atlantic Bight

Under the Shelf-Break Primer initiative, the Office of Naval Research sponsored a multi-year study of acoustic propagation in the region of the North Atlantic Bight off the coast of New Jersey. This region is of interest due to the combination of sloping bathymetry near the continental shelf and the strong oceanographic frontal features associated with the Gulf Stream. The general purpose of this project is to study the effects of the frontal region on acoustic propagation onto the shelf. Proposed here is a complementary study of propagation effects and data analysis. Specifically, the influence of three-dimensional propagation effects and their influence on the prediction of broadband measurements in similar oceanographic regions shall be addressed. Studies of two-dimensional propagation of broadband, explosive SUS will also be performed to examine correlations between geoacoustic properties and measured transmission loss. Results from this analysis will be considered in the context of geoacoustic inversions.