Comments: download file (cintal_rep).
Ref.: SiPLAB Report 01/22, SiPLAB, University of Algarve, January 2022.
Abstract
It is of paramount importance to be able to predict acoustic observation performance
in order to take maximum advantage of the monitoring capabilities of the future CAM-ring
observatories. Ocean acoustics heavily relies on the environmental properties of the
media through which the acoustic wave is propagating between any source - receiver
pair. That dependency involves not only the water column but also, in some cases,
the bottom and the sea surface. The CAM-ring area is extremely diverse, crossing long
ocean stretches, across continental platforms and the abyssal plain. This study attempts
to find common environmental properties along the supposed CAM-ring route, in order
to reduce the problem complexity to a low number of repetitive propagation scenarios.
Using bathymetric data, historical water column and bottom properties, the number of
scenarios is reduced to four: (1) shallow water, (2) deep water double minima, (3) deep
water critical depth and (4) deep-shallow transition zone wedge. Each scenario was fully
characterized and the area of validity determined. The study is concluded by a few candid
recommendations for the layout of the observation nodes.