Large aperture matched field processing via subaperture beamforming techniques

A novel approach to matched field processing of very large array is developed and illustrated by example. The full array is divided into subarrays, and plane-wave beamforming is performed on the subarrays. A technique is presented for dividing the array into subarrays based on the sound speed profile so that plane-wave beamforming is appropriate on the subarrays. The procedure leads to significant simplification, since almost all of the performance can be achieved by optimum combinations of a very small number of beams