In the past half-century numerous scientific research programs have been conducted which have advanced our understanding of shallow water acoustics far beyond the original and pioneering work by Ewing, Worzel, and Pekeris (1948). In particular, during the last three decades several major initiatives have focused on both observation and modeling of acoustic waves in shallow water region with extremely variable environmental properties. We now realize that the shallow water acoustic wave propagation problem is a complicated study of wave propagation in a 4D partially random media with anisotropic, time and space dependent physical properties. The nonlinear internal wave field, the shelf break front, and coastal eddies are good examples of oceanographic processes that cause this type of variability. A review of our progress, which focuses on the effects of the water column, is presented, as well as an assessment of what future questions will be of interest and importance.

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