A. A. Stromkov

Numerical time reversal of waves

A numerical time reversal of waves is proposed instead of the conventional time reversal of wave procedure used in underwater acoustics. In the numerical method, the test sound source and the receiving arrays are used, as in the conventional method, but the transmission of the received signals after their time reversal into the same medium, as well as the measurement of the field obtained in this way at the point of the test source, is replaced by computations. To use the proposed technique for obtaining the same results as those provided by the conventional time reversal of waves, the teset source should be placed at different depths. A simplified numerical algorithm with the test source operating at a single depth is proposed and justified. This version of the time reversal of waves is successfully applied to the experiment in the Barents Sea. In contrast to the conventional method, the proposed technique allows one to study the stability of the sea medium with currents.

Focusing of low-frequency sound fields in shallow water

A numerical experiment is carried out to study the focusing of a low-frequency (100–300 Hz) sound field in a shallow-water acoustic waveguide typical of an oceanic shelf. Focusing with the use of time reversal of broadband acoustic signals, which is called time reversal mirror (TRM) of waves, is considered along with focusing by phase conjugation (PC) of a monochromatic sound field. It is demonstrated that, in the case of focusing by the TRM method in the waveguide of interest, it is sufficient to have a single source-receiving element. The use of a vertical array improves the quality of focusing. The quality achieved in the latter case proves to be approximately the same as that achieved in the case of focusing by phase conjugation of a monochromatic field at a frequency identical to the carrier frequency of the broadband signals. It is also shown that, in a range-independent waveguide, intense surface waves considerably reduce the quality of focusing. This effect is most pronounced in the case of using phase conjugation.

Experimental investigation of potentialities of seismoacoustic sea-bottom sounding using coherent pulse signals

We describe the results of experimental investigations of the seismoacoustical sounding of the bottom structure of the Caspian Sea. They were obtained using a ship towed hydroacoustic emitter of LFM pulse signals in several frequency ranges of frequency band from 100 to 1000 Hz. Based on the high coherence and relatively high frequencies of emitted signals, the results point to feasibility of substantial improvement in noise immunity and resolution of sounding the bottom rocks’ structure at depths of up to 1000 m thanks to combined application of a series of procedures of coherent processing of incoming signals. The processing involves matched filtering of individual pulses, coherent accumulation of pulse trains within the horizontally uniform bottom area, and adaptive path accumulation of pulses accounted for inclination of individual reflecting layers. The resulting gain in noise immunity came to about 30 dB, which points to possibility of efficient use of relatively low-power (up to 100 W) coherent sources for seismoacoustic sounding of sea bottom at minimal damage to local ecology.

Experimental study of mode selection in shallow-water sea

The possibilities of matching low-frequency underwater sound pulses to the parameters of an oceanic waveguide are considered. The objective is to optimize the system of few-mode tomographic observation in a shallow-water sea. Experimental data are analyzed for two methods of selecting the low-frequency fewmode pulses propagating in a shallow-water sea. The first method excites probe pulses by vertically elongated arrays, with spatial filtering after vertical or horizontal arrays receive the pulses. The second method is based on exciting broadband signals with linear frequency modulation by a single transmitter. The selection of the few-mode signal is performed by time strobing the signals at the output of the matched filter after a horizontal array receives the pulses. The distance between the sound sources and receiving systems varied from 10 to 300 km.

Determination of the mode composition of the sound field with a single-point reception in a shallow sea

A possibility of determining the mode composition of the sound field in a shallow sea is considered. The procedure involves the transmission of a short pulse by a point source and the subsequent reception of this pulse at a single point. It is shown that the problem can be solved by using linearly frequency-modulated broadband pulses at relatively short distances (about 20 km), where the attenuation of the signal is rather weak. To take into account the intramode dispersion, it is proposed to use the value of the dispersion typical of a perfect Pekeris waveguide with a stiff bottom. With the use of the calculations and the experimental data obtained in the Barents Sea, it is shown that the proposed approximation is sufficient to determine the mode composition of the sound field.

Spatial extension of the acoustic time reversal region

According to the data of a full-scale shallow-water experiment (in the Barents Sea, at sea depths of about 120 m), a considerable gain in the signal-to-noise ratio is obtained for an acoustic signal received from a source at a distance of 12 km when matching with the medium is performed by the signal from the same source at a distance of 10.5 km. To interpret this experimental fact, a numerical simulation is performed to determine the size of the region of signal focusing due to the time reversal of waves in an ideal waveguide with a soft bottom. It is shown that, for narrowband signals, within a distance of ±5 km along the path from the point of emission of the reversed signal, a regular interference pattern whose maxima are comparable with the principal maximum is observed throughout the whole waveguide depth. For a spectrum width from 100 to 300 Hz, only the principle maximum with an extension of about 100 m is observed at a single depth.

Selection of modes in a shallow sea by using a vertical antenna array

The experimental data on selecting the modes in a shallow sea (the Barents Sea) on 17-and 8-km-long paths are presented. The data are obtained with the use of a 93-m-long vertical receiving array of 32 hydrophones and a point sound source transmitting a pulsed signal with linear frequency modulation in a frequency band of 100–300 Hz. The experimental selection of modes is based on the structure of normal waves in a waveguide with a perfectly reflecting impedance bottom. The bottom impedance for different modes is determined from the experiment. A pressure-release bottom and a bottom with an impedance that is intermediate between the pressure-release and rigid cases correspond to the first mode and the higher modes, respectively. The amplitudes of the modes and their directivity are determined. On the basis of the mode dispersion data and the comparison of the mode contents observed at distances of 8 and 17 km, it is concluded that higher modes are generated at the distances from 8 to 17 km.

Modal time reversal of waves for shallow-water sea

A method is proposed for calculating the time-reversed wave field generated by a point source in a waveguide by using signals received by a vertical antenna array. The procedure of time reversal is based on representing the wave field in the form of the decomposition into modes of the ideal waveguide. In contrast to the earlier proposed simplified numerical method of time reversal of waves, the method presented here allows one to obtain the reversed field for the entire thickness of the waveguide. The method is successfully applied to a shallow-water sea with a depth of 120 m, at distances of 7, 10.5, and 12 km. It is shown that an opportunity arises to increase the gain of the array; to determine the parameters of the medium, including its stability in the presence of currents; and to match the point of transmission of an arbitrary received signal and the point of transmission of the reversed signal.

The ray approach for analyzing the modal structure of the sound field in a range-dependent waveguide

Simple ray-approximation formulas are obtained for the mode amplitudes in a waveguide with range-dependent parameters. The idea of the proposed approach is based on the mode expansion of the complex field amplitude determined using the geometrical-optics approximation. A specific example of calculating mode amplitudes is analyzed for a deep-water sound channel with a sound speed profile nonadiabatically varying with distance. The results of the calculation are compared with the numerical solution obtained for the same problem by the parabolic equation method.

Isolated mode signals by angle and dispersion

The pattern of focused mode signals has been obtained by a method based on decomposing the modes of a real waveguide over the basis from the modes of a real waveguide with whole numbers and fractions. Variants of a noise-immune representation of isolated mode signals are given. The method is applicable under shallow sea conditions and has been tested on signals calculated for an ideal waveguide and a waveguide with real parameters, and it has been implemented in a full-scale experiment in the Barents Sea at distances of 7–17 km. A 200 Hz wideband signal was initiated by an emitter in resonance with a wide band at a level of 10 dB per 20 Hz, which did not prevent the use of complex wideband signals for compression in individual modes. As a result, a dynamic range higher than 30 dB was obtained for mode signals, which makes it possible to estimate the waveguide parameters and observe weak fluctuations as waves propagate in the medium.