Seafloor Scattering in Three Dimensions by Time Domain Finite Differences
Abstract
The long term objective here is to understand the dominant physical mechanisms responsible for propagation, attenuation and scattering in three dimensionally rough and heterogeneous environments such as found on continental margins and elsewhere in the ocean basins. Many Navy acoustic systems operate at high frequencies in shallow water over complex bottoms. In many environments the bottom has range dependent properties such as seafloor roughness or volume heterogeneities within the seafloor. To optimize the performance of these Navy systems it is necessary to fully understand the behavior of acoustic wave propagation in these complex environments. The time domain finite difference (TDFD) method has proven to be useful in studying acoustic wave propagation in complex media in two dimensions. When applied in three dimensions, however, it is computationally unwieldy. There are other, more efficient algorithms. For example, the Spectral Element Method (SEM) has the potential to handle much larger domains than TDFD and can address the larger scale problems that are necessary for Navy applications.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 2005
- Accession Number
- ADA572713
Entities
People
- Ralph Stephen
Organizations
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution