The effects of internal tides on acoustic phase and amplitude statistics in the Philippine Sea

Abstract

Moored oceanographic sensors and satellite altimetry has revealed energetic diurnal and semi-diurnal internal tides in the Western Philippine Sea. Because the internal tides have a complex spatio-temporal pattern and large vertical displacements, these waves have the potential for causing strong acoustic variability. This talk will present a tidal analysis of signal fluctuations from the PhilSea09 experiment in which broadband signals with a center frequency of 275Hz and a bandwidth of 50 Hz were transmitted at the sound channel axis to a large aperture vertical array 185-km distant. Signal phase and amplitude statistics along distinct branches of the observed wavefronts will be analyzed and compared to ray-based model predictions using internal tide information obtained from moored oceanographic instruments at the source and receiver. Key issues are the acoustic effects of the internal tide nonlinearity, temporal stability, high mode structure, and complex horizontal interference patterns. © 2013 Acoustical Society of America.