Performance study of ray-based ocean acoustic tomography methods for estimating submesoscale variability in the upper...

Area of Science:

• Oceanography
• Acoustics
• Geophysics

Background:

• Ocean acoustic tomography (OAT) estimates sound speed profiles (SSPs) using acoustic travel times.
• Understanding upper ocean dynamics requires accurate, high-resolution SSP data.
• Submesoscale variability significantly impacts ocean processes but is challenging to monitor.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate the estimation of range-dependent SSPs in the upper ocean using OAT.
• To evaluate OAT performance for monitoring submesoscale ocean variability.
• To provide practical guidance for designing future OAT experiments.

Main Methods:

• Simulated three-dimensional sound speed variations in the DeSoto Canyon using a regional ocean circulation model.
• Applied classical ray-based OAT and iterative/adaptive OAT formulations.
• Investigated OAT performance based on source-receiver configuration, OAT estimator, and inversion duration.

Main Results:

• OAT performance is sensitive to source-receiver geometry and ray coverage.
• Iterative/adaptive OAT formulations show potential for improved SSP estimation.
• The duration of OAT inversion impacts the accuracy of capturing submesoscale variability.

Conclusions:

• OAT is a viable method for estimating range-dependent SSPs and monitoring submesoscale ocean variability.
• Optimized source-receiver configurations and adaptive algorithms enhance OAT effectiveness.
• Moving autonomous platforms can be effectively utilized in future OAT experiments for upper ocean monitoring.