Observed limiting cases of horizontal field coherence and array performance in a time-varying internal wavefield.

Using a moored source and horizontal/vertical line array combination, horizontal coherence properties of high signal to noise ratio (> or =20 dB) 100-1600 Hz signals have been measured. Internal waves in the area of the measurement created moving episodic sound-speed anomaly structures, influencing coherence length. Measured horizontal coherence scales for 100 Hz ranged from 5 to 20 acoustic wavelengths, and were inversely related to the sound-speed anomaly strength. Horizontal field properties were compared with fields computed using modal decompositions of the vertical signals. The comparison allows azimuthal field coherence properties to be studied apart from normal-mode interference effects.