LAUSR

Underwater acoustic processes including ambient noise, propagation, reverberation, and scattering have been studied for over half a century in the Canadian Arctic. Despite this, realistic predictions of communications and sonar performance have proved challenging due to the complex impact of ice cover on these processes, and the relative scarcity of sound speed profiles and information about the seabed. This challenge has been exacerbated in recent years because the rapid change in environmental conditions is reducing the relevance of many historical records. A key component of the present effort is to extract site specific model inputs from the environmental data contained in the literature, with an informed weighting toward more recent measurements. Site specific modelling was enhanced using inputs from recent year-long ambient noise recordings. Model inputs were also influenced by specific source and receiver hardware being developed for use in future Arctic experiments. In this paper, low frequency sonar and communication performance estimates in the frequency band 20–250 Hz, based on site-specific environmental inputs and this low frequency hardware, are presented for several geographical regions of strategic relevance in the Canadian Arctic.Underwater acoustic processes including ambient noise, propagation, reverberation, and scattering have been studied for over half a century in the Canadian Arctic. Despite this, realistic predictions of communications and sonar performance have proved challenging due to the complex impact of ice cover on these processes, and the relative scarcity of sound speed profiles and information about the seabed. This challenge has been exacerbated in recent years because the rapid change in environmental conditions is reducing the relevance of many historical records. A key component of the present effort is to extract site specific model inputs from the environmental data contained in the literature, with an informed weighting toward more recent measurements. Site specific modelling was enhanced using inputs from recent year-long ambient noise recordings. Model inputs were also influenced by specific source and receiver hardware being developed for use in future Arctic experiments. In this paper, low frequency so...