Accession Number:

AD0753445

Title:

The Fine Structure of the Ocean: A Review

Descriptive Note:

Technical memo.

Corporate Author:

SACLANT ASW RESEARCH CENTRE LA SPEZIA (ITALY)

Personal Author(s):

• Bethell, John P.

Report Date:

1972-12-15

Pagination or Media Count:

33.0

Abstract:

Underwater acoustical measurements during World War II revealed small-scale inhomogeneities in the ocean attributed to small random scatterers. Not until 1963 did vertical sound-speed profiling reveal the alyered nature of the phenomenon. Observations in many parts of the world have revealed the common occurrence of layered regions at many depths. The layers are quasi-homogeneous and range in thickness from a few centimeters to tens, or sometimes hundreds, of meters. The formation of the layers is attributed to one or more of three broad processes a horizontal transport, b vertical transport by thermohaline diffusion, and c vertical transport by dynamic instability. The details are still subjects of discussion and various explanations are reviewed.

Descriptors:

• *SEA WATER
• *UNDERWATER SOUND
• *THERMOCLINES
• NATO
• TEMPERATURE
• SCATTERING
• ACOUSTIC PROPERTIES
• TRANSPORT PROPERTIES
• SOUND TRANSMISSION
• ITALY
• SALINITY

Subject Categories:

• Physical and Dynamic Oceanography
• Acoustics

Distribution Statement:

APPROVED FOR PUBLIC RELEASE