An environmental database for matched-field processing

Model-based acoustic signal processing techniques such as matched-field processing (MFP) have been shown to improve the detection and localization capability of active and passive sonar systems. At DREA/EDRD, an MFP-based software system called the Advanced Acoustic Signal Processor (AASP) is currently being developed in collaboration with contractors and researchers at universities. In a matched-field processor, signals measured at the hydrophone array are correlated with predicted signals (replicas) that are calculated by a full-field acoustic model for a given target position. In order to calculate the replica fields, the physical and acoustical properties of the environment along each propagation path connecting a candidate target position to the receiving array must be available to the acoustic model. Therefore, a fundamental component of the AASP system is an environmental database (EDB) from which the required oceanic and geoacoustical information can be retrieved efficiently. This paper describes the EDB component for the AASP that is being developed by EDRD for Arctic data through a contract with MDA.