Validation of altimetry informed sound speed profile estimation using experimental measurements near the New England Seamounts

During the New England Seamount Acoustics experiment (NESMA), a variety of acoustic sources were deployed and their signals were measured using fixed hydrophone moorings located at the summit of the Atlantis II seamount. To prevent significant mooring tilt caused by the Gulf Stream present in the study area, the hydrophone moorings only spanned the lower portion of the water column. A method for estimating subsurface temperature and salinity profiles using surface observations of sea surface height and temperature will be used to recreate range-dependent sound speed profiles between the source and receiver locations. These estimated profiles will be validated against in situ measurements of temperature ands salinity along the track. Underwater sound propagation models will be used to generatesimulated arrival patterns, which will then be compared to the experimentally measured arrivals. This work will serve to validate the altimetry-informed estimation algorithm, which can then be used to support other NESMA analyses and to inform data-assimilative ocean modeling efforts. Work supported by the Office of Naval Research.