Measurement of in situ Acoustic Properties for the ONR Geoclutter Program
Abstract
The long-term goal of the Geoclutter program is to understand the causes and implications of geologic clutter/reverberation in a seismically and geologically well-characterized shallow-water environment. The selected field area is the mid-outer continental shelf off New Jersey; the bathymetry (a known and prominent cause of backscatter) and portions of the shallow subsurface of this area have been mapped in detail as part of the ONR STRATAFORM program. One premise of this work is that, in any littoral area, buried geologic features can contribute significantly to acoustic reverberation, which affects tactical ASW sonar systems. Proper acoustic processing, coupled with quantitative geologic models, can be used to distinguish these buried features from real (man-made) targets. Complexity arises from STRATAFORM studies on the continental shelf off New Jersey that have shown the general lack of predictability of the shallow subsurface using seafloor imagery, even with 100% coverage of the seafloor and dense grids of subsurface data to depths of 10-15 m.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 2001
- Accession Number
- ADA625843
Entities
People
- Larry Mayer
Organizations
- University of New Hampshire