Directional measurements of low-frequency acoustic backscattering from the seafloor

Abstract

Long-range, low-frequency directional measurements of acoustic backscattering from the seafloor were made in the Tyrrhenian Sea using explosi ve sound sources. The signals were received by a horizontal towed array of hydrophones and were processed by a beamforming procedure to obtain the directional distribution of the scattered field as a function of time. These data are used to form images of scatterers and to estimate the backscattering strength of specific physiographic features. From the data obtained the scattering strengths were estimated to range from -25 dB to -35 dB and did not exhibit strong dependence on frequency.