The image-source method: a tool for geoacoustic inversion

The image source method is a fast tool to perform sound-speed profile estimations for sediment tomography. It uses a broadband source and an array of receivers and is based on the representation of the reflected wave from sediment interfaces by image sources and on array processing techniques. Image sources are automatically detected by the array and the sound-speed profile is deduced directly from their locations. Thus, the method has a low computational cost and can be applied to large data sets. The image source method has been under development during the last decade and has proven its efficiency on simulated data and at-sea experiment data. The objective of this paper is to review these advances of the image source method.