Passive broadband source depth estimation in the deep ocean using a single vector sensor

Abstract

For an acoustic receiver deployed at the bottom of the direct arrival zone of a submerged source at short horizontal ranges in deep ocean, the interference pattern of the direct and surface-reflected acoustic arrivals shows periodic modulation, which is directly related to the source depth, source frequency, and vertical arrival angle. In this work, the interference cycle presented in the frequency domain is used to extract the broadband source depth, with the vertical arrival angle obtained from the ratio of vertical acoustic intensity and horizontal acoustic intensity from the signal recorded by a single vector sensor. Experimental results demonstrate the source depth estimation without requiring knowledge of the ocean environment.