Retrieval Model and Its Uncertainty of Sound Attenuation Coefficient in Seawater Itself Using SeaWiFS Products

Physical and chemical properties of seawater will influence on sonar performance, previous studies have indicated that sound attenuation coefficient of seawater itself is considered as the function of sound frequency and seawater physics parameters (pressure, temperature and salinity). In-situ measurement of these parameters is always needed before the coefficient is calculated in the interesting region. With the development of the remote sensing technology, now it is being gradually possible to real-timely or historically evaluate the coefficient by satellite data in the global range. This paper firstly uses SeaWiFS products of absorption coefficient of colored dissolved organic matter and its spectral slope to retrieve the sea surface salinity, then with SeaWiFS sea surface temperature product, the sound attenuation coefficient at a certain frequency can be evaluated at the sea surface. Because of the limitation of remote sensing empirical retrieval algorithm, the uncertainty of the coefficient is calculated according to the error propagation theory.