scholarly journals Measurements of low‐frequency, low‐grazing‐angle sea‐surface scattering and feature strengths

1993 ◽  
Vol 93 (4) ◽  
pp. 2299-2299
Author(s):  
Roger C. Gauss ◽  
Joseph M. Fialkowski
Keyword(s):  
Grazing Angle ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Surface Scattering

UNDERWATER ACOUSTIC SENSING OF SEA SURFACE WAVES

2008 ◽  
Vol 16 (01) ◽  
pp. 55-70 ◽  
Author(s):  
SUZANNE T. MCDANIEL
Keyword(s):  
Fourth Order ◽  
Cross Sections ◽  
Incidence Angle ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Surface Scattering ◽  
Acoustic Frequency ◽  
Acoustic Data ◽  
High Incidence ◽  
Sea Surface Waves ◽  
Scattering Cross Sections

Rough surface scattering theory is applied to the problem of estimating gravity-capillary wavenumber spectra from measurements of sea surface backscatter at high acoustic frequencies. Ensemble averaged scattering cross sections predicted by small-slope expansions are evaluated to examine the inversion of acoustic data assuming Bragg scatter. The ratio of the full fourth-order small-slope and Bragg predictions is found to exhibit a minimum value of ~ 2dB at moderate angles of incidence. At such angles, the corrections to perturbation theory depend weakly on acoustic frequency and environmental conditions. This latter finding indicates that only a modest effort is required to monitor sea surface conditions to estimate the correction. Corrections to Bragg predictions increase rapidly with increasing incidence angle and at high angles, the fourth-order contributions of the small-slope and extended small-slope expansions differ. This finding casts some doubt on the applicability of small-slope approximations to predict scattering at high-incidence angles.

scholarly journals On the Relationship between Regional Ocean Heat Content and Sea Surface Height

2017 ◽  
Vol 30 (22) ◽  
pp. 9195-9211 ◽  
Author(s):  
John T. Fasullo ◽  
Peter R. Gent
Keyword(s):  
Time Scales ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Heat Content ◽  
Sea Surface Height ◽  
Ocean Heat Content ◽  
Ocean Dynamics ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Altimeter Data ◽  
Model Control ◽  
The Relationship

Abstract An accurate diagnosis of ocean heat content (OHC) is essential for interpreting climate variability and change, as evidenced for example by the broad range of hypotheses that exists for explaining the recent hiatus in global mean surface warming. Potential insights are explored here by examining relationships between OHC and sea surface height (SSH) in observations and two recently available large ensembles of climate model simulations from the mid-twentieth century to 2100. It is found that in decadal-length observations and a model control simulation with constant forcing, strong ties between OHC and SSH exist, with little temporal or spatial complexity. Agreement is particularly strong on monthly to interannual time scales. In contrast, in forced transient warming simulations, important dependencies in the relationship exist as a function of region and time scale. Near Antarctica, low-frequency SSH variability is driven mainly by changes in the circumpolar current associated with intensified surface winds, leading to correlations between OHC and SSH that are weak and sometimes negative. In subtropical regions, and near other coastal boundaries, negative correlations are also evident on long time scales and are associated with the accumulated effects of changes in the water cycle and ocean dynamics that underlie complexity in the OHC relationship to SSH. Low-frequency variability in observations is found to exhibit similar negative correlations. Combined with altimeter data, these results provide evidence that SSH increases in the Indian and western Pacific Oceans during the hiatus are suggestive of substantial OHC increases. Methods for developing the applicability of altimetry as a constraint on OHC more generally are also discussed.

scholarly journals Trapped Planetary (Rossby) Waves Observed in the Indian Ocean by Satellite Borne Altimeters

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yair De-Leon ◽  
Nathan Paldor
Keyword(s):  
Indian Ocean ◽  
Rossby Waves ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Propagation Speed ◽  
Wave Theory ◽  
Planetary Waves ◽  
Sea Surface ◽  
Trapped Wave ◽  
The Indian Ocean ◽  
Frequency Variations

Abstract. Using 20 years of accurately calibrated, high resolution, observations of Sea Surface Height Anomalies (SSHA) by satellite ‎borne altimeters we show that in the Indian Ocean south of the Australian coast the low frequency variations of SSHA are ‎dominated by westward propagating, trapped, i.e. non-harmonic, planetary waves. Our results demonstrate that the ‎meridional-dependent amplitudes of the SSHA are large only within a few degrees of latitude next to the South-Australian ‎coast while farther in the ocean they are uniformly small. This meridional variation of the SSHA signal is typical of the ‎amplitude structure in the trapped wave theory. The westward propagation speed of the SSHA signals is analyzed by ‎employing three different methods of estimation. Each one of these methods yields speed estimates that can vary widely ‎between adjacent latitudes but the combination of at least two of the three methods yields much smoother variation. The ‎estimates obtained in this manner show that the observed phase speeds at different latitudes exceed the phase speeds of ‎harmonic Rossby (Planetary) waves by 140 % to 200 %. In contrast, the theory of trapped Rossby (Planetary) waves in a ‎domain bounded by a wall on its equatorward side yields phase speeds that approximate more closely the observed phase ‎speeds.‎

Studies on the interaction of low‐frequency acoustic signals with the ocean bottom

Geophysics ◽  
1979 ◽  
Vol 44 (12) ◽  
pp. 1922-1940 ◽  
Author(s):  
Salvatore R. Santaniello ◽  
Frederick R. DiNapoli ◽  
Robert K. Dullea ◽  
Peter D. Herstein
Keyword(s):  
Acoustic Waves ◽  
Grazing Angle ◽  
Low Frequency ◽  
Propagation Loss ◽  
Ocean Bottom ◽  
Computer Technique ◽  
Quantitative Evidence ◽  
Ocean Sediment ◽  
Wave Models ◽  
Processing Techniques

Understanding the mechanisms by which the ocean sediment redirects impinging sound back into the ocean is necessary in developing propagation models for sonar performance prediction. The Naval Underwater Systems Center (NUSC) has (1) conducted controlled, self‐calibrating acoustic measurements where the ocean bottom interacted signal is isolated in time for analysis, (2) developed deconvolution processing techniques to aid in describing the impulse response of the ocean sediment, and (3) performed modeling to study the interaction of acoustic waves at the ocean bottom. This paper presents a synopsis of studies showing the necessity of considering the refraction of sound by the ocean sediment when predicting low‐frequency propagation loss. Constructive interference between nonplanar wave sediment refracted sound and sound reflected by the ocean‐sediment interface and subbottom layering can cause negative values of bottom loss when using plane‐wave models to interpret measured data. These models cannot account for all possible acoustic arrivals at a receiver. In addition, for a given frequency and constant ocean bottom grazing angle, bottom loss can be dependent upon both processing bandwidth and source/receiver depth. Deconvolution has aided in time resolution of signals that make up the bottom‐interacted signals. Resolution of these signals aids in interpreting results. A modeling effort utilizing the Fast Field Program (a computer technique for evaluating the field integral by the fast Fourier transform) provides quantitative evidence for the necessity of accounting for the refraction of sound by subocean sediments to interpret properly low‐frequency propagation loss measurements.

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