Abstract:
Of fundamental interest to the underwater acoustics community is the role that bubbles may play in connection with scattering from the rough air/sea interface. In this paper a high fidelity waveguide propagation and sea surface scattering model known as FEPE-CM [G. V. Norton et al., J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 97, 2173--2180 (1995)] is applied to the problem of forward scattering from a rough air/sea interface in the presence of a depth- dependent (horizontally statified) bubble layer. The numerical experiments considered were designed to explore the role of upward refraction (due to the presence of the bubbles) on forward scattering from the air/sea interface. Results from these numerical experiments will be presented. Preliminary results show an enhancement to the forward surface scattered field. [Work supported by ONR.]