Wave Measurements Required for Acoustics

The analysis of the interaction of acoustic energy with the sea surface requires certain information about the sea surface. The purpose of this paper is to present to the measurement community the needs of the acoustics community. This paper addresses two areas of the problem: first, which characteristics of the sea surface significantly impact the scattering of acoustic energy; and second, how might these characteristics of the sea surface be measured with existing technology. It is hoped that the reader will suggest better measurement techniques. Scattering theories are reviewed to determine which characteristics of the sea surface are needed to analyze the acoustic intensity scattered from the rough surface. Limiting the wave measurement technology to deep water systems, methods of measuring the surface characteristics are surveyed.