Assessment of ocean prediction model for naval operations using acoustic preset

The outcome of a battlefield engagement is often determined by the advantages and disadvantages held by each adversary. On the modern battlefield, the possessor of the best technology often has the upper hand, but only if that advanced technology is used properly and efficiently. In order to exploit this advantage and optimize the effectiveness of high technology sensor and weapon systems, it is essential to understand the impact on them by the environment. In the arena of anti-submarine warfare (ASW), the ocean environment determines the performance of the acoustic sensors employed and the success of any associated weapon systems. Since acoustic sensors detect underwater sound waves, understanding how those waves propagate is crucial to knowing how the sensors will perform and being able to optimize their performance in a given situation. To gain this understanding, an accurate depiction of the ocean environment is necessary. How acoustic waves propagate from one location to another under water is determined by many factors, some of which are described by the sound speed profile (SSP). If the environmental properties of temperature and salinity are known over the entire depth range, the SSP can be compiled by using them in an empirical formula to calculate the expected sound speed in a vertical column of water. One way to determine these environmental properties is to measure them in situ, such as by conductivity-temperature-depth or expendable bathythermograph (XBT) casts. This method is not always tactically feasible and only gives the vertical profile at one location producing a very limited picture of the regional ocean structure. Another method is to estimate the ocean conditions using numerical models. The valued-aided ocean prediction models to ASW are assessed in this study. Such quantitative analyses offer a means to optimize the ASW requirements and technical capabilities of new weapon systems. We use observed and modeled 3D fields of temperature, salinit- - y, and sound speed. Compare model profiles to observed profiles. Do ocean models predict the vertical features of the observational data? We run representative modeled and observed SSP profiles through Navy´s acoustic models to see if there is an acoustic difference in propagation and weapon preset