1.5. Features of Oceanography
1.5.1. Sound Speed Profiles
The main factor affecting the propagation of acoustic waves in the ocean is the speed of sound, which has a nominal value of 1500 m/s in temperate and equatorial oceans. Since the ocean is not a homogenous medium, small departures from the nominal value, of the order of 1%, are exhibited by the sound speed. Although these variations in the speed of sound are small, they have a profound effect on acoustic propagation in the ocean. Focusing effects, for example, occur in long-range transmission in the deep ocean due to the depth profile of the sound speed.
The speed of sound at any point in the ocean depends on the local temperature, salinity, and hydrostatic pressure (or depth). In a horizontally ...
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