Acoustic Wave Propagation in an Underwater Sound Channel 1. Qualitative Theory

Abstract

We give a qualitative study of wave propagation in an inhomogeneous medium principally by geometrical optics and ray theory. The inhomogeneity is represented by a sound-speed profile which is dependent upon one coordinate, namely the depth; and we discuss the general characteristics of wave propagation which result from a source placed on the sound channel axis. We show that our mathematical model of the sound-speed in the ocean actually predicts some of the behaviour of the observed physical phenomena in the underwater sound channel. Using ray theoretic techniques we investigate the implications of our profile on the following characteristics of SOFAR propagation: (i) the sound energy travelling further away from the axis takes less time to travel from source to receiver than sound energy travelling closer to the axis, (ii) the focusing of sound energy in the sound channel at certain ranges, (iii) the overall ray picture in the sound channel.