Constrained comparison of ocean waveguide reverberation theory and observations

Measurements of long-range (order 10⁴ m) shallow-water reverberation in the Straits of Sicily at 900 and 1800 Hz are compared with theoretical predictions. All of the required environmental inputs for the theory are obtained independently, that is to say there are no free parameters. The reflection coefficient and the scattering strength are measured by direct path methods; both quantities show strong frequency dependence. The theoretical reverberation predictions using these measurements are in good agreement with directional reverberation data, i.e., within the expected uncertainty bounds. The good agreement suggests that the supporting environmental measurement techniques are robust and that the physics associated with reverberation in a waveguide is reasonably well understood, at least in simple environments. The ability to independently measure the seabed scattering strength and reflection coefficient is a crucial step for the advancement of inverse methods using reverberation (e.g., rapid environmental assessment) inasmuch as it provides the means for quantitatively measuring the robustness of those methods.