2.681: Environmental Ocean Acoustics

Fall | Graduate | 12 Units | Prereq: 2.066, 18.075, or permission of instructor

Fundamentals of underwater sound, and its application to mapping and surveillance in an ocean environment. Wave equations for fluid and elastic media. Reflection and transmission of sound at plane interfaces. Wave theory representation of acoustic source radiation and propagation in shallow and deep ocean waveguides. Interaction of underwater sound with elastic waves in the seabed and an Arctic ice cover, including effects of porosity and anisotropy. Numerical modeling of the propagation of underwater sound, including spectral methods, normal mode theory, and the parabolic equation method, for laterally homogeneous and inhomogeneous environments. Doppler effects. Effects of oceanographic variability and fluctuation - spatial and temporal coherence. Generation and propagation of ocean ambient noise. Modeling and simulation of signals and noise in traditional sonar systems, as well as modern, distributed, autonomous acoustic surveillance systems.