MODEL EXPERIMENTS FOR 3-DIMENSIONAL PROPAGATION CHARACTERISTICS IN A WEDGE-SHAPED OCEAN

The theoretical solution for acoustic propagation in a wedge-shaped ocean with ideal pressure-release boundaries predicts a well-defined beam which diverges as the energy propagates out towards deep water. Outside of the beam, shadow zones are formed, and the beam's spatial extent is determined by the lowest mode of propagation. The purpose of the experimental results presented here is to check the theoretical analyses, as part of an ongoing investigation into three dimensional propagation in the ocean environment, and to investigate further the propagation characteristics of this type. It has been found that for downslope propagation, the spatial characteristics of the field in a direction parallel to the shore line are in good agreement with the theoretical solution and the azimuthal extent of the beam depends on the wedge angle and frequency.