ASA 129th Meeting - Washington, DC - 1995 May 30 .. Jun 06

5aUW7. Backscattering from the ocean surface: Observations from the acoustic surface reverberation experiment (ASREX) December '93--March '94.

Charles L. Monjo

Hien B. Nguyen

Neil J. Williams

Harry A. Deferrari

Appl. Marine Phys., RSMAS, Univ. of Miami, 4600 Rickenbacker Cswy., Miami, FL 33149

Preliminary results from a surface reverberation experiment that was performed in the North Atlantic Ocean during the winter of 1993--94 will be presented. Observations of acoustic backscatter from the ocean surface were made from a moored vertical array at frequencies ranging from 100 to 800 Hz at 12-min intervals during a 3-month period. Simultaneous measurements were made by other investigators (from SIO, WHOI, and IOS-BC, Canada) of a variety of environmental parameters, including wind speed and direction, wave spectra, air and sea temperature and current fields, and the presence and nature of bubble clouds were observed with devices that detected anomalies in the near surface sound speed and using high-frequency side scan sonars. Variation of backscattering strengths with changes in the environment will be presented and comparisons with results from other recent observations [P. M. Ogden and F. T. Erskine, 746--761 (1994)] will be made. [Work supported by ONR.]