Geoacoustic inversion using low frequency broadband acoustic measurements from L-shaped arrays in the Shallow Water 2006 Experiment

When using geoacoustic inversion methods, one objective function may not result in a unique solution of the inversion problem because of the ambiguity among the unknown parameters. This paper utilizes acoustic normal mode dispersion curves, mode shapes, and modal-based longitudinal horizontal coherence to define a three-objective optimization problem for geoacoustic parameter estimation. This inversion scheme is applied to long-range combustive sound source data obtained from L-shaped arrays deployed on the New Jersey continental shelf in the summer of 2006. Based on the sub-bottom layering structure from the Compressed High-Intensity Radiated Pulse reflection survey at the experimental site, a two-layer (sand ridge overlaying a half-space basement) range-independent sediment model is utilized. The ambiguities of the sound speed, density, and depth of the sand ridge layer are partially removed by minimizing these objective functions. The inverted seabed sound speed over a frequency range of 15–170 Hz is comparable to the ones from direct measurements and other inversion methods in the same general area. The inverted seabed attenuation shows a nonlinear frequency dependence expressed as from 50 to 500 Hz or from 50 to 250 Hz, where f is in kHz.

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