Random temperature structure as a factor in long-range propagation

Abstract

A statistical description of horizontal thermal microstructure in anosotropic turbulence is developed for application with an existing acoustic propagation theory. The model predicts a temperature power density spectrum which decays as -5/3 and -3 in the convective and buoyancy ranges, respectively. The relative power in the two ranges is a function of depth and depends on the total rate of energy dissipation, the total rate of dissipation of temperature variance, and the Brunt-Vaisala frequency. Companion experimental data at two widely separated stations of the North Atlantic verify the theoretical predictions.