Geo-acoustic inversion of the PROSIM'97 experimental data using simplex simulated annealing

Abstract

In the spring of 1997 SACLANTCEN performed an experiment near the Elba island in the Mediterranean Sea. The PROSIM'97 experiment was designed for the validation of a broadband acoustic propagation model. During the period of May 15-23 of 1997 both environmental data (i.e., sound-speed proles, current measurements, temperature profiles, etc.) and acoustic data were collected. The data were collected from a well-known area where previous experiments have been performed. This report describes the geo-acoustic inversion applied to some of the acoustic data from this experiment. Estimates of the seafloor properties and the experimental geometry were determined from broadband acoustic pressure fields. The inversions were carried out using a new hybrid global optimization algorithm (simplex simulated annealing), and a new and fast acoustic propagation model PROSIM. A description of the inversion algorithm is given and the results of the inversions are presented and compared to past inversion results for this region.