Introducing sound speed variability in laboratory water tank

The variation of temperature in the ocean causes changes in sound propagation. To simulate the naturally occurring variability in an ocean environment, this project quantified the sound speed variation achievable in a laboratory water tank. The rectangular tank (1.2 m × 3.6 m with 0.5 m depth) has anechoic paneling that minimizes lateral reflections. In this experiment, temperature was measured from four different temperature sensors. The temperature was used to calculate the sound speed in the tank as a function of time while the water was cooled and heated. Sound speed values were compared from four different empirical equations. We found that while the temperature varies in time, the temperature is relatively uniform at different locations in the tank. In experiments involving three hours of heating and adding 100 pounds of ice, there was a 10-degree Celsius difference in temperature, corresponding to a 20 m/s difference in water sound speed. By adding an additional degree of variability to the tank measurements, a portion of the variability seen in the ocean can be replicated. This sound speed variability can then be used to test the robustness of machine learning algorithms.