Aspects of time-varying non Gaussian non-linear signal analysis

This thesis addresses problems in the field of time-varying, non-Gaussian, non-linear signal processing. It concentrates on developing results in the areas of time-frequency signal analysis and higher-order spectra which are linked by the developing area of time-varying higher-order spectra. Motivation comes from applying procedures developed to underwater acoustic signals. Reviews of time-frequency analysis and higher-order spectra precede the research contributions. Three appendices cover: a review of the multiple-window spectrum estimation method, an improved procedure for computing analytic signals frequently used in time-frequency signal analysis, and an updated approach for computing Slepian sequences necessary for the multiple-window spectrogram