Temporal variations of acoustic propagation in the strong tidal zone, Yellow Sea in the northwest Pacific

The Yellow Sea of the northwest Pacific is semi-closed shallow water (<; 100 m), and one of the strong tidal zone in world ocean. Acoustic propagation in the shallow waters can be affected by the changes of the oceanographic condition such as sound speed, wind, tide, and current. This paper here presents acoustic propagation characteristics from acoustic modeling with measured environmental data. For obtaining environmental data, a large buoy system to be installed 6 CTD was continuously deployed during over two months at a stationary station. From the studies, changes of the thermocline depth and temperature due to periodic tidal current have a strong influence on the fluctuation of the sound speed profile. And, the temporal fluctuations of the sound speed profile have an absolutely effects on the ray path of the mid frequency.