Monostatic and bistatic bottom scattering: recent experiments and modeling

In 1993 a special research program on Coastal Benthic Boundary Layers (CBBL, managed by the US Naval Research Laboratory) was begun. As part of that program an autonomous, spatially scanning, sonar system was deployed in a well characterized region off the coast of Florida. The goal was to examine high frequency acoustic scattering from the sediment. This sonar operated at 40 kHz, had a 5° horizontal beamwidth, and acquired backscattering data in a 50 meter radius area three times per hour for three weeks. During part of the deployment it operated in conjunction with a mobile receiving array so as to acquire bistatic data. The experimental apparatus, procedures, and results are presented. Then a recently developed bistatic model is outlined. Finally, this model (driven, in part, by the environmental parameters measured at the experimental site) is tested against the experimental results