Statistical estimation of transmission loss from geoacoustic inversion using a towed array

Area of Science:

• Ocean acoustics
• Geophysical signal processing
• Environmental acoustics

Background:

• Geoacoustic inversion estimates ocean environmental parameters using measured acoustic fields.
• Inversion results contain uncertainties due to data noise and modeling errors.
• Standard sonar performance models often exclude environmental variability.

Purpose of the Study:

• To statistically estimate transmission loss (TL) and its uncertainty band using geoacoustic inversion.
• To incorporate environmental variability into TL estimation for improved sonar performance predictions.
• To validate the approach using experimental data.

Main Methods:

• Geoacoustic inversion of measured acoustic fields to estimate environmental parameters.
• Statistical estimation of TL based on the posterior probability density of inverted parameters.
• Generation of a credibility level envelope (uncertainty band) for TL.
• Comparison of estimated TL with measured TL from the MAPEX2000 experiment.

Main Results:

• An uncertainty band for transmission loss (TL) was generated based on geoacoustic inversion.
• The estimated TL and its variability were compared with measured TL.
• The approach accounts for environmental variability not typically included in sonar models.

Conclusions:

• Geoacoustic inversion provides a robust method for estimating transmission loss (TL) with associated uncertainty.
• The generated uncertainty band enhances sonar performance predictions by including environmental variability.
• The study demonstrates the practical application of statistical TL estimation in ocean acoustics.