Significance and feasibility of a joint assessment of arrival angles and times in experimental tomography methodology

The purpose of this study is to theoretically evaluate the performances of a vertical array in a fluctuating medium by the mean of arrival times-angles diagrams. First, pertinence of using the eikonal approximation to monitor the sound speed structure in a fluctuating ocean and especially to probe meso-structure in the northeastern Atlantic Ocean is discussed. Then, a study of the evolution of tomographic parameters: travel time, temporal spreading, temporal resolution, angular density...based on rays theory is conducted through a synthesis of recent theoretical studies and a parametric approach. Its aim is to quantify and precisely define the undesirable effects induced by the fluctuating medium. These results are compared with those of a statistical study, and then efficiency of an array processing dealing with a joint assessment of arrival angles and times is investigated