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Updated: May 31, 2026

Infant Auditory Processing and Event-related Brain Oscillations
Published on: July 1, 2015
Temporal coherence of acoustic signals in a fluctuating ocean
Alexander G Voronovich1, Vladimir E Ostashev, John A Colosi
1The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration/Earth System Research Laboratory, 325 Broadway, Boulder, Colorado 80303, USA.
Abstract:
Temporal coherence of acoustic signals propagating in a fluctuating ocean is important for many practical applications and has been studied intensively experimentally. However, only a few theoretical formulations of temporal coherence exist. In the present paper, a three-dimensional (3D) modal theory of sound propagation in a fluctuating ocean is used to derive closed-form equations for the spatial-temporal coherence function of a broadband signal. The theory is applied to the analysis of the temporal coherence of a monochromatic signal propagating in an ocean perturbed by linear internal waves obeying the Garrett-Munk (G-M) spectral model. In particular, the temporal coherence function is calculated for propagation ranges up to 10(4) km and for five sound frequencies: 12, 25, 50, 75, and 100 Hz. Then, the dependence of the coherence time (i.e., the value of the time lag at which the temporal coherence decreases by a factor of e) on range and frequency is studied. The results obtained are compared with experimental data and predictions of the path-integral theory.
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