Acoustic Beam Propagation In A Turbulent Ocean

Effects of random fluctuations of sound speed in the ocean on acoustic beam propagation are investigated. These effects are especially interesting because of the existence of the vertical sound-speed profile and hence the occurence of multiple-path propagation. The path integral technique is utilized to compute the average intensity. By examining the variations of the average intensity, the following conclusions are drawn: Random fluctuations not only smooth the oscillations of the intensity, which are due to the interference among multiple paths, but also broaden the beam. It is found that this broadening is asymmetric and the energy in the beam moves toward the deeper side of the beam. This phenomenon is attributed to the effect of the vertical sound-speed profile.