Including 3-D effects in 2-D ocean acoustic modeling

Detailed computer modeling has conclusively shown that out-of-plane scattering and small-scale bathymetric roughness influence the backscattered acoustic intensity in nontrivial ways for acoustically hard surfaces such as sand, gravel, shells and rock. We show that forward scattering of the acoustic signal has similar effects, at least for out-of-plane scattering. Also demonstrated are the results of statistically including the backscatter effects in sonar performance modeling by adjusting the sea floor material parameter presently used in sonar models to account for them.