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Introduction to Underwater
Acoustics

OSD-101 Basic Engineering

Course

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Objectives

At the end of this session you should:

Identify the amplitude, Frequency wavelength and phase of an acoustic signal

Know the nominal speed of sound in water.

Know what sound level in measured in decibels means.

Know why measuring the speed of sound prior to commencement of work is

important.

Know how spreading losses, absorbtion losses, scattering affect the acoustic signal.

Know how ray bending affects the acoustics signal

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What is Sound?

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Speed of Sound in Water

In 1826, Charles Sturm (left) and Daniel Colladon

(right) made the first accurate measurement of the speed
of sound in water. Sturm rang a submerged bell and
Colladon used a stopwatch to note the length of time it
took the sound to travel across Lake Geneva. Their measurement
of 1,435 meters per second was only 3 meters per
second off from the speed accepted today

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Sound velocity parameters

The parameters which determine sound velocity are temperature, salinity and
pressure.

The Table shows the approximate coefficients relating to change in sound

velocities to change in these parameters

Sound Velocity Parameters

Temperature

2.7m/sec/ C

Salinity

1.2m/sec/ppt

Pressure

0.017/m/sec/m

Temperature most important

Pressure insignificant
Salinity very constant except in river mouths and lakes

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Ocean Temperature, Salinity and Pressure

Temperature generally constant in depth. Thermo clines (sudden changes in

temperature) occur near the surface.
Salinity increases little with depth.
Pressure increase rapidly but water not compressible. Effect therefore small.

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Sound velocity vs depth

Speed of sound in Water nearly always measured prior to the

commencement of any acoustic work.
This would be carried out by a Temperature and Salinity probe.
Sound velocity layers normally horizontal over large areas.
The warmer the water the faster sound will travel given that the salinity
remains the same.
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Which Sound Velocity to Use ?

TS DIP at Cleeton, 31 March 1999
0.00

Surface (transducer input)

10.00

Depth (m)

20.00

Water Column (through

water measurements

30.00

40.00

50.00

60.00
1476.40

1476.50

1476.60

1476.70

1476.80

Velocity (m/s)

1476.90

1477.00

1477.10

Seabed (near-seabed
measurements,
baselines
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Water Parameter Equipment

CTD Sensors

Velocimeter
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Nature of Sound Waves

A propagating sound wave consists of alternating compressions and rarefactions

which are detected by a receiver as changes in pressure. Structures in our ears, and
also most man-made receptors, are sensitive to these changes in sound pressure
The basic components of a sound wave are Amplitude, Frequency, Wavelength
and Phase.

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Sound Wave Properties

The amplitude of a sound wave is proportional to the maximum distance a

vibrating particle is displaced from rest. Small variations in amplitude
produce weak or quiet sounds, while large variations produce strong or loud
sounds.

The frequency of a sound wave is the rate of oscillation or vibration of the

wave particles (i.e. the rate amplitude cycles from high to low to high, etc.).
Frequency is measured in cycles/sec or Hertz (Hz). To the human ear, an
increase in frequency is perceived as a higher pitched sound, while an
increase in amplitude is perceived as a louder sound.

The wavelength of a wave is the distance between two successive

compressions or the distance the wave travels in one cycle of vibration, or

A fourth property of sound, its phase, is less directly related to how sound is
heard. It relates to the alignment of the sound wave in time.
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Wavelength and Frequency

The speed of a sound wave is the rate at which vibrations propagate

through the medium.
Wavelength and frequency are related by:

c
f

= wavelength,
c = speed of sound in the medium,
f = frequency.

where

The speed of sound in water is approximately 1500 m/s while the

speed of sound in air is approximately 340 m/s. Therefore, a 20 Hz
sound in the water is 75 m long whereas a 20 Hz sound in air is 17 m long.

Frequency is inversely proportional to wavelength

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Frequency

1
T

Frequency is inversely
proportional to periodic time

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Amplitude and Frequency

Note that increasing the frequency of a sound in equal steps will lead to perceived increases
in pitch that seem to grow smaller with each step.
Humans generally hear sound waves whose frequencies are between 20 and 20,000 Hz.
Below 20 Hz, sounds are referred to as infrasonic, and above 20,000 Hz as ultrasonic.
Infrasonic (about 20 Hz) < Human hearing < Ultrasonic (about 20,000 Hz)
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Phase

A fourth property of sound, its phase, is less directly related to how sound is heard. Phase
is important in describing how complex sounds can be constructed from the simple
sinusoidal waves.
The picture shows an example of two sound waves with the same frequency and amplitude
only their alignment with respect to time differs. By specifying amplitude, wavelength, and
phase, any sinusoid can be exactly described. By describing these parameters for all
frequency components, any complex signal can be described exactly.
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Decibel Scale

Sound Intensity is usually measured with the decibel scale in which the
steps are not equal, but get progressively louder.

By using the decibel scale, calculations are simplified and relative values
relate more closely to perception. A pressure in decibels expresses a
ratio between the measured pressure and a reference pressure .

On the decibel scale, everything refers to power, which is amplitude

squared. 0.0 dB corresponds to about the normal threshold of hearing and
130 dB to the point where sound becomes painful to humans.

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Decibel Scale

Sound pressure is sound force per unit area, and is usually measured in
micropascals (Pa), where 1 Pa is the pressure resulting from a force of
one newton exerted over an area of one square meter.

Sound Pressure Level (dB) = 20 log (p/p(ref) where p(ref) is the reference
pressure.

Sound Intensity Level (dB) = 10 log (I/Iref) where I(ref) is the reference
intensity.

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The Sound Pressure Level in Air

The lowest sound pressure possible to hear is approximately 2 x 10 -5 Pa (20

micro Pascal, 0.02 mPa), 2 ten billionths of a an atmosphere.

It therefore convenient to express the sound pressure as a logarithmic

decibel scale related to this lowest human hearable sound 2 x 10 -5 Pa dB

If one signal is twice the amplitude of another it is +6 dB relative to it.

Example A2 is 4 x 10-5 Pa and A1 is 2 x 10-5 Pa

dB = 20 log10 A2/A1 dB = 20 log10 4 x 10-5 / 2 x 10-5

dB = 20 log10 2

dB = 20 x 0.301 = 6dB

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Reference Levels

When quoting source levels, the distance from the source for that reference
level must also be cited in addition to the reference level.

Typically the units of Sound Intensity Levels are dB relative to the reference
intensity at 1 meter (e.g., 20 dB re 1Pa @ 1m) - i.e. how intense the sound
would be were it measured 1 m from the source.

Reference Pressure Level in Underwater Acoustics is

1Pa
Reference Pressure Level in Air is 20Pa
So! 120dB in air is not the same as 120db in water

Once we start using the decibel scale, Sound Intensity Level and Sound
Pressure Level are pretty much the same thing
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The Decibel Scale

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Loudness and Amplitude

If the amplitude of a sound is increased in a series of equal

steps, the loudness of the sound will increase in steps which
are perceived as successively smaller. Because sound
"loudness" varies exponentially.
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Pitch and Frequency

Note that increasing the frequency of a sound in equal

steps will lead to perceived increases in pitch
that seem to grow smaller with each step.
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Seismic Waves

Seismic waves are elastic sound waves propagating through the earth.

Two Main Types: P Waves

S Waves

P- Waves: Direction of particle motion parallel to the direction

of the sound waves.
S-Waves: Direction of particle motion perpendicular to the
direction of the sound waves. This is not present in
air and water.

When sound waves enter a solid material they are called Seismic waves
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Seismic Waves

P waves

P waves are longitudinal or

compressional waves, which means
that the ground is alternately
compressed and dilated in the
direction of propagation. These waves
generally travel slightly less than twice
as fast as S waves and can travel
through any type of material. In air,
these pressure waves take the form of
sound waves, hence they travel at the
speed of sound. Typical speeds are
330 m/s in air, 1500 m/s in water and
about 5000 m/s in granite. P waves
are sometimes called "primary waves",
and are not as destructive as the S
waves and surface waves that follow
them.

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Seismic waves

S waves

S waves are transverse or shear

waves, which means that the ground is
displaced perpendicularly to the
direction of propagation. In the case of
horizontally polarized S waves, the
ground moves alternately to one side
and then the other. S waves can travel
only through solids
Fluids (liquids and gases) do not
support shear stresses. Their speed is
about 60% of that of P waves in a
given material. S waves are
sometimes called "secondary waves",
and are several times larger in
amplitude than P waves.

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Advances in Underwater Acoustics

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Acoustic Impedance

Sound travels through materials under the influence of sound pressure.

Because molecules or atoms of a solid are bound elastically to one another,
the excess pressure results in a wave propagating through the solid.

The acoustic impedance (Z) of a material is defined as the product of its

density (p) and acoustic velocity (V).
Z = pV

Acoustic impedance is important in

1.the determination of acoustic transmission and reflection at the boundary
of two materials having different acoustic impedances.
2. the design of ultrasonic transducers.
3. assessing absorption of sound in a medium.

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Spherical Spreading of Sound

When something hits the sea surface

a wave is formed, this wave spreads
out around the source.

When the circle gets bigger the

energy spreads to fill it.

Therefore, the energy per unit length

of the wave must get smaller.

This is spreading loss.

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Spreading Loss vs Distance

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Absorption of Sound

As a sound wave travels through

water it causes the water
molecules to start vibrating.

The sound must overcome the

viscosity of the water, they do
this by stealing some energy
from the sound wave.

The amount of absorption

depends on the frequency of the
sound.

High Frequency Sound

Low Frequency Sound

A high frequency sound has

many cycles in a second, and the
particles in the medium are
therefore vibrating very rapidly
This means that, under the same conditions, a high frequency sound won't travel
as far as a low frequency sound.
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Absorption Loss vs. Distance

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Spreading and Absorption combined

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Refraction of Light

Sound is refracted just as light is.

Refraction occurs when a wave

encounters a change in velocity of
the medium ( water, water to air ).

Since sound speed changes with

changes in temperature, salinity,
and pressure, a sound wave will
refract as it moves through the
ocean.

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Reflection of Sound
Deflection of the path of a
sound wave by an object or
by the boundary between
two media
Acoustic properties of the
boundaries
Similar = less reflection
Dissimilar = more
reflection

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Sound Channel (SOFAR)

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Ray Bending

In the warm upper layer of the ocean, sound is

refracted toward the surface. As sound waves
travel deeper into colder water, they slow and
are refracted downward, creating a shadow
zone in which a submarine can hide

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Sound - Ray Bending

Sound velocity profile

Calculated ray bending

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Scattering of Light

Scattering affects the distance

sound can travel

Amount of scattering
Size of object
Wave length of sound

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Scattering of Sound

Travelling through the sea, an underwater sound signal becomes delayed, distorted and
weakened, reflecting off the underside surface of waves, bottom and shores, bubbles,
suspended particles and marine life.

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Background Sounds in the Ocean

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Sonar Equation

EL = SL + TS - 2TL

Where EL (echo level) is the level of the reflected sound

SL (source level) is the level of the incident sound
TS is target strength
and 2 TL is two-way transmission loss due to spreading and
absorption.

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Transducers

Construction

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Transducers Beamwidth

Beam angle

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Transducers
Beam Pattern for Side Scan Sonar
horizontal

vertical

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Transducers

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Factors that Limit our Ability to Communicate in

Water

Ray Bending

Multipath

Transmitted Power

Transmission Losses

Environmental Noise (signal to noise)

Topography (Directivity)

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Frequency Allocation

Sidescan
Pinger
Sparker

Boomer

Echo Sounders
Multibeam

1khz

10Khz

100Khz

1Mhz

10Mhz

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