Bottom Backscattering Strengths Measured in Shallow and Deep Water

Abstract

For a low-frequency (LF; < 1 kHz) or mid-frequency (MF; 1 to 10 kHz) active sonar, scattering from the seafloor, coupled with propagation conditions, can severely limit the detectability of returns from features of interest. Acoustic scattering from the seabed can be a complex mix of surface roughness and volume heterogeneity contributions, so that reverberation levels can vary dramatically, depending on the local geology. The Naval Research Laboratory (NRL) performed LF and MF, direct-path bottom backscattering strength (BBS) measurements at 105 sites over 6 experiments in 5 distinct environments from 1993 to 2005. This report presents the BBS results from these experiments, as well as empirical fits to the MF results.

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Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 18, 2017
Accession Number
AD1030090

Entities

People

  • Edward L. Kunz
  • Joseph M. Fialkowski
  • Richard Menis
  • Roger C. Gauss

Organizations

  • United States Naval Research Laboratory

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Energy and Power Technologies
  • Ground and Sea Platforms

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acoustic Scattering
  • Active Sonar
  • Data Processing
  • Deep Water
  • Frequency
  • Frequency Bands
  • Geometry
  • Grain Size
  • Grazing Angles
  • Measurement
  • Military Research
  • New Jersey
  • Plastic Explosives
  • Reverberation
  • Scattering
  • Shallow Water
  • Surface Roughness

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Acoustical Oceanography.