Bayesian geoacoustic inversion using wind-driven ambient noise

This paper applies Bayesian inversion to bottom-loss data derived from wind-driven ambient noise measurements from a vertical line array to quantify the information content constraining seabed geoacoustic parameters. The inversion utilizes a previously proposed ray-based representation of the ambient noise field as a forward model for fast computations of bottom loss data for a layered seabed. This model considers the effect of the array’s finite aperture in the estimation of bottom loss and is extended to include the wind speed as the driving mechanism for the ambient noise field. The strength of this field relative to other unwanted noise mechanisms defines a signal-to-noise ratio, which is included in the inversion as a frequency-dependent parameter. The wind speed is found to have a strong impact on the resolution of seabed geoacoustic parameters as quantified by marginal probability distributions from Bayesian inversion of simulated data. The inversion method is also applied to experimental data collected at a moored vertical array during the MAPEX 2000 experiment, and the results are compared to those from previous active-source inversions and to core measurements at a nearby site.