ASA 126th Meeting Denver 1993 October 4-8

3aUW5. The source pressure field arising from wave--wave interactions in shallow-water environments.

A. C. Kibblewhite C. Y. Wu

Dept. of Phys., Univ. of Auckland, Private Bag, Auckland, New Zealand

Theoretical treatment of the noise source induced by wave--wave interactions have been traditionally based upon the assumption of an infinitely deep ocean. Growing interest in the application of the wave-induced pressure field as an acoustic source in the determination of the sub-bottom geoacoustic structure in shallow-water areas calls for a study of the influence of water depth on the physical processes involved. This paper presents some results based on such an extension. It shows how the depth-dependent surface-wave dispersion relation and porosity in the upper layers effect the spectral properties of the resulting ULF noise field in shallow-water environments. [Work supported by ONR.]