The Coherence of Acoustic Signals in the Ocean and Application to the Design of Very Large Arrays

Abstract

The most important conclusion to be made from the development of the Multipath Coherence Function (MCF) is that it demonstrates the existence of coherence without correlation between random channels. The MCF demonstrates the importance of the size of fluctuations compared to their correlation. The existence of partial coherence implies a non-zero mean signal field for fluctuations which are small enough. It was also shown that the MCF is independent of the signal source and depends only on the properties of the medium. The importance of frequency domain processing is readily observed by comparing the coherence function with the normalized cross-correlation function. A broad band signal waveform in a multipath medium may have only one or two discrete frequencies at which coherence is high. The cross-correlation function, however, considers the entire signal waveform and will have a much smaller value than the maximum value of the coherence function. The MCF formulation is a simple, concise mathematical expression, and does not depend on present knowledge of oceanographic fluctuations. The solution is adaptable to future developments in the causes of these fluctuations.

Open PDF

Document Details

Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Date
Jan 01, 1979
Accession Number
ADA090108

Entities

People

  • William John Graham

Organizations

  • Moore School of Electrical Engineering

Tags

Communities of Interest

  • Sensors

DTIC Thesaurus Topics

  • Acoustic Channels
  • Acoustic Frequencies
  • Acoustic Propagation
  • Acoustic Signals
  • Acoustic Waves
  • Computer Programs
  • Detection
  • Diffraction
  • Doppler Effect
  • Electrical Engineering
  • Frequency Domain
  • Fresnel Zones
  • Geometry
  • Signal Detection
  • Signal Processing
  • Wave Propagation
  • Waveforms

Fields of Study

  • Physics

Readers

  • Acoustical Oceanography.
  • Software Engineering.
  • Statistical inference.