Geoacoustic model parameter estimation using a bottom moored hydrophone array

Describes results from an experiment carried out to investigate geoacoustic inversion with a bottom moored hydrophone array located in the shallow waters of the Timor Sea off the northern coast of Australia. The array consisted of two arms in a V-shape, horizontally moored to a bottom was essentially flat over a large area. Hydrophone positions were estimated using an array element localization technique. The data used for geoacoustic inversion were from four tones in the 80-195 Hz band. A hybrid search algorithm determined the set of geoacoustic model parameters that maximized the Bartlett fit (averaged coherently spatially at each tone and incoherently over frequency) between the measured and modelled data at the array. The inverted geoacoustic profile performed well in a simple test for localizing the sound source at other sites in the vicinity of the array.