Shallow Water '06: A Joint Acoustic Propagation/Nonlinear Internal Wave Physics Experiment

Copyrighted by the Oceanography SocietySince the end of the Cold War,\ud the US Navy has had an increasing interest\ud in continental shelves and slopes as\ud operational areas. To work in such areas\ud requires a good understanding of ocean\ud acoustics, coastal physical oceanography,\ud and, in the modern era, autonomous\ud underwater vehicle (AUV) operations.\ud Each area presents challenges for both\ud the scientist and the Navy. In physical\ud oceanography, a complex interplay\ud among winds, rivers, tides, and local\ud bathymetry drives a non-stationary, shelf-break\ud front and the nonlinear internal\ud wave (NLIW) field. These strongly\ud affect acoustic systems but are not\ud adequately understood. A key oceanographic\ud challenge is to model the fully\ud four-dimensional ocean from the large-scale\ud circulation down to fine scales,\ud which include NLIW packets, internal\ud tides, jets, and density fronts. Both Navy\ud acoustics systems and Navy operations\ud need the “local ocean weather” as\ud well as the “ocean climate” as part of\ud the routine forecast, but the former is\ud not yet available