Modeling arrival scattering due to surface roughness

Signal scattering due to surface roughness constitutes one of the most important modeling problems in underwater acoustics when dealing with signal processing at large frequencies (i.e. above 1 kHz). Such modeling requires, in particular, realistic predictions of the ocean surface, which is usually perturbed by the propagation of swells and wind driven surface waves. Most of experimental studies had been dealing with short-range propagation, although it still remains unclear the separated impact of periodic vs. stochastic surface roughness on the arrival structure of received signals. The main purpose of the discussion presented in this paper is to clarify such issues through the calculation of impulse responses at high frequencies, at short and large ranges, using a ray tracing acustic propagation model. The results of the simulations are expected to improve strategies of signal processing when scattering affects the received signal.