F-test in matched field processing: identifying multimode propagation

Addresses the simultaneous detection and classification of signal arrivals, as well as the estimation of source parameters of signals impinging on an array of sensors. The authors develop a procedure for short-time stationary broadband signal propagation in a shallow ocean. The procedure is applied to sensor data obtained from a towed horizontal receiver array in the Baltic Sea for interpreting the impinging signals. The authors apply a multiple test procedure to three propagation models: a Green's function model, uncorrelated normal modes and plane waves. They apply an F-test which calculates signal to noise ratios for the three models, and select the model with highest SNR. Thereby, they are able to classify previous phantom bearing estimations as uncorrelated normal mode propagation originating from the towing ship itself.