Littoral Environment Parameter Estimation from Bistatic and Multistatic Fleet Air Antisubmarine Warfare (ASW) Acoustic Reverberation Data

Currently, collections of sonobuoy sources and receivers (sonobuoy fields) are being used to search for enemy submarines. These systems can potentially cover large search areas in relatively short times. However, like all sonar systems, their performance is very difficult to predict. This difficulty is not as much due to problems in understanding the physics of sound propagation, as it is to inadequate knowledge of important environmental parameters. Using a combination of existing tactical sonobuoys and emerging environmental sonobuoys, like the TAM buoy, sonar-important properties of the ocean could be estimated during a real mission. These measurements could then be used to get accurate indications of actual system performance and to potentially modify operating parameters of the sonar system to improve mission success. This proposal addresses what measurements to make, how to make them, and how to use them to improve system performance.