Interpretation of Sound Velocity Profiles in Sea Water

Interpretation of the principle features of sound velocity in terms of the basic oceanographic parameters—temperature, salinity, and depth—is undertaken using the functional relationship between the velocity of sound and the temperature, salinity, and pressure of the sea water through which the sound is propagating as expressed by Wayne D. Wilson of the U. S. Naval Ordnance Laboratory. The effect of independent variation of these parameters on the sound‐velocity profiles is treated mathematically for a uniform and a stratified ocean. The slope, slope reversals, kinks, and minimums in the sound‐velocity profiles are related to environmental conditions. A comprehensive discussion of the causes of the long‐ and short‐term changes in the features of the profiles is included. The use of sound‐velocity data to infer primary oceanographic parameters is demonstrated using the temperature‐salinity relationships.