Using long-range transmissions in the Beaufort Gyre to test the sound-speed equation at high pressure and low temperature

Abstract

An ocean acoustic tomography array with a radius of 150 km was deployed in the central Beaufort Gyre during 2016–2017 for the Canada Basin Acoustic Propagation Experiment. Five 250-Hz transceivers were deployed in a pentagon, with a sixth transceiver at the center. A long vertical receiving array was located northwest of the central mooring. Travel-time anomalies for refracted-surface-reflected acoustic ray paths were calculated relative to travel times computed for a range-dependent sound-speed field from in situ temperature and salinity observations. Travel-time inversions for the three-dimensional sound-speed field consistent with the uncertainties in travel time [∼2 ms root mean square (rms)], receiver and source positions (∼ 3 m rms), and sound speed calculated from conductivity-temperature-depth casts could not be obtained without introducing a deep sound-speed bias (below 1000 m). Because of the precise nature of the travel-time observations with low mesoscale and internal wave variability, the conclusion is that the internationally accepted sound-speed equation (TEOS-10) gives values at high pressure (greater than 1000 m) and low temperature (less than 0 °C) that are too high by 0.14–0.16 m s−1.

Document Details

Document Type
Pub Defense Publication
Publication Date
Oct 01, 2023
Source ID
10.1121/10.0021973

Entities

People

  • Bruce D. Cornuelle
  • Heriberto J. Vázquez
  • John A. Colosi
  • Jonathan D. Nash
  • Matthew A. Dzieciuch
  • Peter F. Worcester

Organizations

  • Naval Postgraduate School
  • Office of Naval Research
  • Oregon State University
  • University of California, San Diego

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Acoustical Oceanography.
  • Oceanography.