F. Desharnais
SACLANTCEN, 19026 Viale S. Bartolomeo 400, La Spezia, Italy
Propagation loss modeling has been done in support of the experimental cruise ``Maple Gelato'' conducted in an area of the Gulf Stream, east of Cape May, New Jersey (by the SACLANTCEN, Italy, and the Defence Research Establishment Atlantic, Canada). The experiment was conducted in summer conditions (September 1992), and seamounts were also present in the area. Although the data will not be presented at this time, the modeling of the propagation through the front, done with the SACLANT parabolic equation model, will be presented for frequencies ranging from 10 to 300 Hz, and for sensors distributed along a 300-m vertical array. Preliminary results show that the effect of the front is to redistribute the energy in space, and to shift convergence zones. The acoustic levels within the two first convergence zones however are not affected substantially, although this depends on source and receiver depths. Seamounts, depending on their locations relative to the source, can counteract the effects of the fronts. The modeling results will be compared with results obtained in other frontal areas, to emphasize the particularities of the Gulf Stream.