Data-model comparisons of reverberation at three shallow-water sites

Reverberation measurements made by the SACLANT Undersea Research Centre at three shallow-water sites (130-190-m depth) are compared with each other and with estimates from the DREA normal-mode reverberation model OGOPOGO. The experiments over silt-clay and sand seabeds were conducted at slightly bistatic geometries (0.7-6.0-km source-receiver separation), using explosive sources detonated at mid-water depths. The signals were received on hydrophones of either a vertical or horizontal array and analyzed in one-tenth-decade frequency bands from 25 to 1000 Hz. The data are compared with each other to investigate the site differences and frequency dependencies, and with the estimates from the reverberation model OGOPOGO to interpret the data and to obtain a qualitative measure of the scattering. For modeling purposes, geoacoustic models of the seabed were assumed, and the reverberation data were fitted by adjusting the Lambert bottom scattering coefficients. Good model agreement was obtained with both individual hydrophone and data. Though somewhat sensitive to the geoacoustic the Lambert coefficients give a measure of the frequency dependence of the scattering. For the silt-clay bottom, the scattering is weak but is independent of frequency; for the sand bottoms, the scattering is stronger and increases with frequency. These results are compared with estimates from other experiments.