Matched field processing in shallow ocean: signal arrival identification using EM algorithm

The estimation of source and environmental parameters for stationary broadband wave propagation in a slowly time-varying shallow ocean environment is considered. The “model mismatch” problem is avoided by joint estimation of the waveguide and source parameters by an approximate maximum-likelihood function. The advantage of the approach is the physically and statistically justified incorporation of broadband data into the model and reducing the dimension of the parameter space for the required maximization of the log-likelihood function. The algorithm is applied to real sonar data recorded by a horizontally towed receiver array in the Baltic Sea for interpreting the impinging signals