| Signals received by low-frequency multibeam echosounders are strongly affected by sound penetration inside the upper sediment layers and by backscattering from buried layers down to depths of a few meters; this may lead to serious ambiguities and misinterpretations of experimental data. These phenomena are modeled here using a concept of equivalent input backscattering strength (EIBS), based on a combination of classical models of local backscattering strength and propagation inside fluid layered media. The local backscattering strength at a buried interface is expressed first to account for the impedance adaptation due to the overlying layers, for the angular refraction effects due to the velocity profile, and for the layered structure of the underlying... |
