Neil J. Williams
Hien B. Nguyen
Charles L. Monjo
Harry A. Deferrari
Appl. Marine Phys., RSMAS, Univ. of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Cswy., Miami, FL 33149
Preliminary results from a surface reverberation experiment performed in the North Atlantic during the winter of 1993--94 indicate that ambient noise levels may prove to be a convenient and accurate indicator of surface backscattering strengths. Backscattered energy from coherent sources ranging in frequency from 100 to 800 Hz were observed over a three month period. Both the backscattered returns and ambient noise were recorded by a 64-element vertical array while simultaneous measurements were made of a variety of environmental parameters, including: wind speed and direction, wave spectra, air and sea temperature and current fields, bubble plumes, etc., by investigators from SIO, WHOI, and IOS/BC, Canada. The nature of the data set lends itself to time series analysis techniques. Multivariate analysis of backscattering strengths as a function of ambient noise and various other environmental parameters will be presented and discussed. [Work supported by ONR.]