Data-based mode extraction with a partial water column spanning array

This is the authors' abstract. We don't add key points for this paper.

In a shallow ocean waveguide the acoustic field can be characterized by depth-dependent modes propagating in range with an associated propagating wavenumber. Though recently developed methods for determining the modes from recorded acoustic data alone without ocean or bottom modeling have shown promise, they are only applicable when the acoustic field is sampled over the entire water column. This paper presents a method for determining the acoustic modes from measured data alone when the field is sampled over only a portion of the water column. The method requires broadband sources at many ranges, e.g., a moving source, in order to construct the frequency-wavenumber (f-k) structure of the waveguide. Because modal propagation is dispersive, the modes are characterized by a discrete set of wavenumbers that vary continuously with frequency. Due to the discreteness of the modal wavenumbers, it is possible to isolate the modes in the f-k domain and extract them individually with a singular value decomposition (SVD). Because the modes are extracted individually the full-spanning and degeneracy limitations of the SVD are removed. Theory, simulation, and laboratory data confirm the process.