SHELF-BASIN ACOUSTICS, NOISE, AND OCEANOGRAPHY

Abstract

PROJECT SUMMARY SHELF-BASIN ACOUSTICS, NOISE, AND OCEANOGRAPHY Climate change profoundly impacts the Arctic Ocean. As sea ice volume decreases, it exposes more ocean to wind forcing that loosens the ice pack, and increases sea ice retreat. Much of the Arctic Ocean has become a marginal ice zone that is now more dynamic and variable than the permanently ice-covered ocean of prior decades. Mobile sea ice constitutes a rough sea surface for sound propagation while upwelling of warmer Atlantic waters over the continental slope conditions the water column to spread sound anisotropically. We propose a joint oceanographic and acoustic study in the Arctic Beaufort Sea. A yearlong experiment will reveal broadband propagation of acoustic signals in a sloping waveguide with rough boundaries and anisotropic water column properties. Resolved physical processes that impact acoustic propagation across the steeply sloping shelf-break include wind-driven upwelling at daily to weekly time scales and the advance and retreat of the seasonal ice cover. This proposal is coordinated with several colleagues in both the oceanography and acoustic science communities in particular with efforts from the Applied Research Laboratory at the University of Texas (ARL-UT).

Document Details

Document Type
DoD Grant Award
Publication Date
Aug 12, 2016
Source ID
N000141512110

Entities

People

  • Mohsen Mnm Badiey

Organizations

  • Office of Naval Research
  • United States Navy
  • University of Delaware

Tags

Fields of Study

  • Environmental science

Readers

  • Acoustical Oceanography.
  • Ocean-Atmosphere Mesoscale Modeling, Data Assimilation, and Flux Boundary Layers
  • Polar and Arctic Studies