An assessment of broadband acoustic techniques for determination of sediment parameters

Predictions of acoustic wave propagation in the sea require knowledge of geoacoustic sediment parameters like sound velocity and absorption. The development of methods for rapid determination of sediment data is a very active research area. This report is a review and an assessment of the state-of- the-art of broadband inversion techniques. For this purpose we study a few field trials, which can be considered as representative of new approaches. A common feature is the matched-field technique, in which measured data are compared to simulated data from wave propagation models driven by hypothesized bottom parameters. Attention is also paid to recent advances of sub-bottom profilers, which may be equipped by software tools for analysis of reflection data.