Ellen S. Livingston
Bruce H. Pasewark
Naval Res. Lab., Washington, DC 20375
Low-frequency (0--600 Hz) acoustic measurements were taken on a 20-element bottom mounted horizontal line array in the surf zone of Duck, NC, during the DUCK94 exercise of Oct 1994. These measurements of breaking wave noise comprise acoustic array data uniquely taken so close to shore. The array was oriented endfire to shore, at 500 m offshore in 6 m of water. The beamformed array data provide a space-time-frequency decomposition of the surf zone noise. In particular, comparisons of noise levels from inshore and offshore in low surf conditions and moderate surf conditions are shown. Individual hydrophone data show frequency versus time versus level dependence and indicates a correlation between breaking wave period and noise levels.