Reliable acoustic path and convergence zone bottom interaction in the Philippine Sea 09 Experiment.

One of the objectives of the Philippine Sea 09 (PhilSea09) was to examine the multipath structure of RAP propagation at the seafloor. For a source near the surface, a receiver at the seafloor, and ranges approaching one-half a CZ, one expects a direct path, seafloor reflected and refracted paths plus water column multiples. These were measured using the bottom elements of the SIO deep vertical line array. Similarly, for both a source and a receiver at the surface and at CZ ranges, these same paths propagate back to the surface. These were also measured with the PSU FORA (five octave research array). The experiment was part of an NPAL Group effort. Work supported by ONR Ocean Acoustics.