Under-ice mid-frequency acoustic transmission and communication in two Arctic Ocean environments

This paper presents data from mid-frequency (4-8 kHz) under-ice acoustic transmission and communication experiments in the Nansen Basin and in the Beaufort Sea of the Arctic Ocean. Measured impulse responses to range ∼10 km showed considerable delay spread between distinct groups of arrivals due to surface-ducted and bottom-reflected paths. The relative strengths of these groups depend on duct and under-ice properties. We demonstrate that despite shallow (∼25 m) source/receiver depths, good communication performance can be achieved in both environments when exploiting the bottom-reflected arrivals. Simulations with the Bellhop ray model support the findings.