Tests of models for high-frequency seafloor backscatter

The interaction of high-frequency sound with the seafloor is inherently a stochastic process. Inversion techniques must, therefore employ good stochastic models for bottom acoustic scattering. An assortment of physical models for bottom backscattering strength is tested by comparison with scattering strength data obtained at 40 kHz at three shallow water sites spanning a range of sediment types from fine silt to coarse sand. These acoustic data are accompanied by sediment physical property data obtained by core sample analysis and in situ probes. In addition, stereo photography was used to measure the power spectrum of bottom relief on centimeter scales. These physical data provided the inputs needed to test the backscatter models, which treat scattering from both the rough sediment-water interface and the sediment volume. For the three sites considered here, the perturbation model for scattering from a slightly rough fluid seafloor performs well. Volume scattering is predicted to be weak except at a site having a layer of methane bubbles.