Model experiments for the acoustic field in a water column which includes the effects of shear in marine sediments

A scaled, horizontally stratified shallow water marine acoustic model is constructed for the purpose of investigating the sound field resulting from long range propagation. The characteristics of this sound field in the water column are strongly dependent upon properties of the surficial sediment. One effect is the conversion from compressional waves in the water column to shear waves in the sediment at grazing angles less than the critical. To model a shallow marine environment, concrete is used as a substrate rock and laminating epoxy is used to model a surficial sediment. Preliminary tests of the effects of the model's environment are performed, and the range dependent sound field as a function of depth is measured for several CW frequencies. These sound field profiles are compared with an approximate predictive theory, and with a numerical solution which treats the sediment properties exactly.