Chapter 2 Coastal Oceanography, Geology, and Biology 2.1 The Coast as Acoustic Waveguide From the viewpoint of low- and mid-frequency shallow water acoustics, the ocean shelf is a waveguide, limited by a pressure release boundary above (the ocean’s surface)andanabsorbingboundarybelow(theoceanbottom/seabed).Indescribing thesoundfieldradiatedfromasource(whetherpointordistributed),boththewave- guide’sinteriorandboundariesplayanessentialrole.Todescribethiswaveguide’s interiorandboundaries,wemustdelveintotheareasofcoastalphysicaloceanogra- phy, geology and geophysics, and biology. These areas are vast scientific fields on theirown,andsowelimitourselvesheretotouchingononlytheelementsofthemthat aremostgermanetoshallowwateracoustics.Therestweleavetothereadertoexplore independently. Toward this, we initially provide three physical oceanography references,whichshouldgivethereaderastartingpoint:PondandPickard(1983); Bowden(1983);andCushman-Roisin(1994).Wewillstartbylookinginthefirstsix sections of this chapter (Sects. 2.1–2.6) at physical oceanography, then devoting Sects. 2.7–2.10 to marine geology, and finally ending in Sect. 2.11 with some discussionofmarinebiology. Inlookingattheshallowwateracousticwaveguideingeneral,thesoundspeed inboththewaterandthebottomdependsmainlyondepth(thezcoordinate)andas a “beginners rule” varies slowly in the horizontal coordinates and in time (more precisely,geotime).Thus,itiscommonlytakenthatthesound-speedfieldc(x,y,z) is to first order only a function of z. This allows usto look initially at the vertical variability of the sound speed at different geographical locations and seasons and makebothsensibleintercomparisonsanddistributionsofvariability. In that vein, distilled results of different observations and measurements of sound-speed profiles in various areas of the world ocean are shown in Fig. 2.1. We can see that the water column sound-speed profiles differ depending on geographical location and season, whereas the seabed sound-speed profiles are moresimplydeterminedbydepth(overburdenpressure)andmaterialcomposition. Wewillattempttoexplainthedetailsoftheseprofilesinthesectionsthatfollow. B.Katsnelsonetal.,FundamentalsofShallowWaterAcoustics, 17 TheUnderwaterAcousticsSeries,DOI10.1007/978-1-4419-9777-7_2, #SpringerScience+BusinessMedia,LLC2012 18 2 CoastalOceanography,Geology,andBiology Fig. 2.1 Sound-speed profiles in different areas of the world’s coastal ocean and for different seasons.1–higherlatitude,wintersound-speedprofiles,2–lowerlatitudeyearroundandsummer mid-latitudeprofiles.3–bottomsoundspeed.Thenonmonotoniccurveincludedshowsasound- speedprofilewithapossiblepurerefractionduct For analytical calculations and estimation, we can select a small numbers of “canonical”(i.e.,genericortypical)sound-speedprofilesthatcanbeusedtocharac- terizealargefractionoftheshallowwaterenvironment(KupermanandLynch2004). However, these profiles, shown in Fig. 2.2, are merely first-order simplified representationsoftherealityoftheshallowwaterseas(asrepresentedbyFig.2.1). Inordertoknowwhentheycanbeusedorwhentheyshouldbeaugmented,wemust first discuss the real environment. We will do that next, approaching the coastal oceanographyfirst,andthenmovingtothecoastalmarinegeology. 2.2 Properties of Sea Water: Vertical Stratification and Its Seasonal Variability Toagoodapproximation,wecanconsiderseawaterasatwo-componentmedium, consistingofasolvent(water)andvarioussalts.Theconcentrationofsalt(salinity) isusuallydenotedasSandismeasuredinpro-mille(denotedas‰)orinpartsper thousand(ppt).Theaveragevalueofsalinityindeepoceanseawaterisabout35‰. Variationsofsalinitywithintheshelfzoneareintheorderof20–35ppt. The thermodynamic state of sea water is characterized by temperature T(cid:1), densityr,salinityS,andpressurePandisdescribedbythestateequation r¼rðT(cid:1);S;PÞ: (2.1) 2.2 PropertiesofSeaWater:VerticalStratificationandItsSeasonalVariability 19 Mixed or mid-latitude Typical 3-layer mid-latitude winter profile (Pekeris) summer profile 1) 2) Surface mixed layer C(z) C(z) Isovelocity water Thermocline Bottom mixed layer Isovelocity Bottom Isovelocity Bottom Halfspace Halfspace Coastal Front 3) C (z) 1 C (z) 2 Isovelocity Bottom Halfspace Fig.2.2 Threesimplesound-speedprofileswhichcharacterizemuchofshallowwateracoustics. Thefirstprofileistheso-called“Pekeriswaveguide,”typicalofmixedwatercolumnconditions over a simple bottom. The second profile is the “three-layer model,” typical of low-latitude or summer mid-latitude waters over a simple bottom. The third profile is that of an enormously simplifiedcoastalfront,againoverasimplebottom Due to the complexity of the composition of seawater, this equation can be written only empirically. In physical oceanography, the parameters temperature, salinity, and pressure are basic, whereas other observed characteristics (sound speed, heat capacity, conductivity, etc.) are expressed through these three parameters. As is well known, these parameters depend on both space and time (wewill denotethis“slow” timeasgeotime, T, incontrastwith the “fast” time,t, usedinformingexpressionsforthehigh-frequencyoscillationsofthewavefields). Oneofthemaincharacteristicsofseawaterisitsbulkadiabaticcompressibility (definedbytherelativevariationofthedensitywithpressure) (cid:1) (cid:3) 1 @r b ¼ (2.2) a r @P a which also depends on the basic thermodynamic parameters and, in relating it to acoustics, generally depends on the frequency of the pressu(cid:5)rpe ffioffiffisffifficffiffiffiillations (of sound) as well. The sound speed is connected to b by c¼1 rb . In our a a case, b (cid:3)4(cid:4)5(cid:5)10(cid:4)10Pa(cid:4)1. b depends on T(cid:1) and S, and according to a a experimental data (e.g., Babii 1983), compressibility decreases with both increas- ing temperature and salinity, whereas sound speed correspondingly increases. 20 2 CoastalOceanography,Geology,andBiology Table2.1 Coefficientsofequationofstate b [Pa(cid:4)1] b [(cid:1)K(cid:4)1] b ð(cid:1)=(cid:1)(cid:1)Þ(cid:4)1 @c=@T[ms(cid:4)1(cid:1)K(cid:4)1] N[cph] a T S 4(cid:4)5(cid:5)10(cid:4)10 1:3(cid:5)10(cid:4)4 8(cid:5)10(cid:4)4 4.6 <10 This variability of b determines the dependence of the sound speed upon the a thermodynamicparameters;ofparticularimportance,thedependenceofthesound speedontemperaturegoesas @c (cid:3)4:6m/(sdegree),asarough“ruleofthumb.” @T(cid:1) Wealsoneedtodefinethethermalexpansioncoefficient (cid:1) (cid:3) 1 @r b ¼(cid:4) (2.3) T r @T(cid:1) S;P andthecoefficientofvariationofthedensityasafunctionofsalinity (cid:1) (cid:3) 1 @r b ¼ : (2.4) S r @S P;T Withthesequantitiesdefined,wecanthenwritedownthedifferentialequation ofstateofseawateras dr ¼b dT(cid:1)þb dPþb dS (2.5) r T a S where(typical)numericalvaluesofthecoefficientsareshownintheTable2.1and NistheBrunt–Vaisalafrequency(seeAppendixA).Thisresultwillbeusedinour furtherwork. Temperaturevariabilityisagoodfirst-orderproxyforsound-speedvariabilityin shallow water, since the well-known equation of state (Urick 1975) gives that the soundspeedisapproximately c¼1449:2þ4:623T(cid:1)(cid:4)0:0546ðT(cid:1)Þ2þ1:391ðS(cid:4)35Þþ0:017z (2.6) where c is in m/s, T(cid:1) is in degrees Celsius, S is salinity in ppt or psu, and z is in meters.Sincedeptheffectsonlyaddabout0.017s(cid:4)1tothisequation,theyareoften ignoredtofirstorderinshallowwater.Salinityalsoisagenerallyweaksound-speed signal(thoughnotalways,ascoastalwatersshowthelargestvariationinS).Forthe range of T(cid:1) and S typically found in coastal waters (T(cid:1) ~ 6–25(cid:1)C and S ~ 20–35 ppt), it is easily seen that temperature effects dominate. However, to get at the temperature field theoretically, the physical oceanographer has to con- siderthesalinityjustasmuchasthetemperature,sincethedensityfieldisthemost critical parameter in ocean flows and structure, and density is about equally dependent on temperature and salinity effects. Thus, (2.5) is the critical state equation for physical oceanography, whereas (2.6) is the important state equation foroceanacoustics. 2.2 PropertiesofSeaWater:VerticalStratificationandItsSeasonalVariability 21 Thetemperaturedistributionintheshallowwatercolumnisdeterminedbyboth the large-scale water masses found at a particular location and the competition betweensolarheating,mediumstratificationandverticalmixing,thelatterofwhich is inducedby wind stress on the surface as well aswaveand current stress on the bottom.Inmodelingthe vertical temperature distribution,we will consider here a simple yet physical and useful model, published by James (1977), which is also describedinthecoastaloceanographytextbookbyBowden(1983).Thisvariability intheverticaltemperatureprofilewithgeotime,i.e.,thefunctionT(cid:1)ðz;TÞ,iscentral toshallowwateracoustics. Webeginwiththeone-dimensionalverticaldiffusionequationfortemperature, (cid:1) (cid:3) @T(cid:1) @ @T(cid:1) ¼ K ; (2.7) @T @z z @z where T is the geotime and K is the vertical eddy diffusion coefficient of heat, z dependent ondepth andgeotime. Totake intoaccountthatmixingis inhibited by densitystratification/stability,K ismodifiedto z K ¼K ð1þsRiÞ(cid:4)p; (2.8) z 0 whereg0 ¼K gisthecoefficientforneutralstability(nostratificationpresent)and 0 RiisthegradientRichardsonnumber,givenby , (cid:1) (cid:3) @T(cid:1) @U 2 Ri¼gb : (2.9) T @z @z In (2.8) and (2.9), s; p are empirically determined constants, on the order of s¼0:3andp¼1:5 respectively;Uisthehorizontalcurrentmagnitude;andb is , T thecoefficientofthermalexpansionofwater. Thesolutionof(2.7)issubjecttosurfaceandbottomboundaryconditions. Atthesurface, (cid:6) (cid:7) @T(cid:1) Q~ K ¼ ; (2.10a) z @z rc z¼0 ~ whereQisthefluxofheatdownwardthroughthesurface(inparticular,theaverage heatfluxfromtheSunisabout0.14W/cm2).Atthebottom,theturbulentdiffusion ofheatisinhibited,so (cid:6) (cid:7) @T(cid:1) K ¼0: (2.10b) z @z z¼H Thetemperaturegradient,@T(cid:1)=@z,isthendeterminedviacalculation.Theheat ~ input Q and the wind speed are the meteorological inputs to the model (the wind 22 2 CoastalOceanography,Geology,andBiology speed being one of the factors in K, as we will see). The term ð@U=@zÞ2 in (2.9) z isobtainedbyassumingthatthebottomandsurfaceboundarylayershavelogarith- mic velocity profiles, the surface one caused by the wind stress and the bottom onecausedbythetidalcurrents.Forinstance,thenear-bottomvelocityprofilewill looklike u z u¼ (cid:6) ln ; (2.11) k z 0 0 where z is the distance from the bottom, u ¼ðt=rÞ1=2 is the so-called friction (cid:6) velocity(tbeingthestressduetothenear-bottomtidalcurrent),z isaroughness 0 parameter,andk isvonKarman’sconstant,approximatelyequalto0.4.Asimilar 0 formiseasilyfoundintheliteratureforthesurfaceboundarylayer.Thisformwill befamiliartomanyreadersasthe“lawofthewall.” The neutral eddy diffusivity (at Ri¼0) is expressed as the sum ofsurface and bottompartsaswell,i.e., K ¼K þK (2.12) 0 0W 0T where K is proportional to the wind speed and K is proportional to the tidal 0W 0T currentspeedandthedepthofthewater. Withallthisinhand,themodelisrun.Whenathermoclineisformedatacertain depth, z¼z , it is assumed that wind mixing cannot penetrate below that depth 0 and that bottom (tidal current) mixing cannot penetrate above it. Moreover, as is also usual in mixing models, if @T(cid:1)=@z becomes positive, indicating unstable stratification, the model mixes the temperature instantaneously over a range of depth, thus restoring stability to the profiles. By integrating (2.7) numerically, startingfromgiveninitialconditions,onecancomputetheevolutionofthetemper- atureprofilewithtime,andindeedJames’resultslookexactlylikeourthree-layer model of shallow water, i.e., a surface layer, a thermocline, and a bottom mixed layer,asseeninFig.2.3. Weshouldmaketwonotesaboutthetemperaturestratificationmodelpresented above,particularlyfromtheviewpointofanacoustics“modeluser.”First,andmost importantly, while this model is useful for understanding the physics of how the surfacemixedlayer,bottommixedlayer,andthermoclinearise,itisrelativelyweak for predictive use. Mixed layer models are demanding in their inputs for wind stress,insolation,initialstratification,etc.,andtypically,thismuchdetailedinputis hard to get. For acoustics users, climatology probably gives a good enough first- orderestimateofstratification,andaninsituXBTorCTDgivesthebestimprove- ment to that. Second, the model discussed above is one of the simpler ones, and more complicated models do exist which include salinity effects, more detailed modelsofturbulenceandmixing,andeven threedimensions.We referthereader totheclassicarticlebyPriceetal.(1986)asanexampleofamoresophisticated1D approach. 2.3 HorizontalStratificationandItsVariability:FrontsandEddies,SurfaceDucts... 23 Fig.2.3 Developmentofaseasonalthermocline,computedfromthe1Dmodeldiscussed.Top panel shows temperature profiles at 28-day intervals, the bottom panel the corresponding coefficientsofeddydiffusionatthesametimes.WithpermissionfromI.D.James,Estuar.Coastal. Mar.Sci,7,197–202.CopyrightAcademicPress(London)Ltd Extensionoftheshelfsound-speedprofileresultstotheslopeisstraightforward, atleasttofirstorder.Onejustgetsridofthebottommixedlayerintheshelfprofile, andextendsthedownwardrefractinggradientlayertothetypicaldownwardrefrac- tiononegetsinthefirstkilometerdepthduetotheexponentialtemperaturedecrease, using the climatology of the region as a guide. This gives the profile shown in Fig.2.3toppanel.However,thisisagenericmeanprofileanddoesnotincludethe effectsoffronts,eddies,IWs,finestructure,etc.Theseareoftenpresentontheslope, andsotheabove“prescription”mustbeusedwithextremecare. One also notes that down to the depth of about 750 m, the depth of the mid- latitude deep sound channel axis, this profile is downward refracting. This means that sound comingoff the shelf onto the slope will “hug the bottom,” giving high soundlevelsnearthebottom,andashadowzonejustabovethat.However,pastthe depthof750m(itoftencanbedownto~1km),thesoundwillnolongerbedriven intothebottom,butratherthefieldwill“liftoff”thebottomandcontinueitstravel inthewell-knowndeepoceanSOFARaxis.Thiscanbemodifiedbytheshelfbreak frontandotherstructure;soagain,onemustlookatthiseffectexercisingcare. 2.3 Horizontal Stratification and Its Variability: Fronts and Eddies, Surface Ducts, and Storm Surges Intheabovediscussion,weconcentratedontheverticalvariabilityofthetempera- turefieldanddiscussedasimplemodelofhowthatvariabilityarises.Thisvertical structure is the most important feature of the shallow water column, as the water column and bottom are approximately horizontally stratified (comprised of 24 2 CoastalOceanography,Geology,andBiology vertically stacked layers) over the propagation scales of interest, which reach to about 50 km in shallow water. However, horizontal stratification is a broad-brush firstapproximationonly,andinmanyshallowwaterscenarios,thereisappreciable sound-speed variability in the horizontal direction, as well as in the vertical. Perhaps the strongest horizontal variability in shallow water is due to shallow waterfronts,andsoweaddressthattopicnext. There are four separate kinds of shallow water fronts which are of potential interesttounderwateracousticians.Theyare(1)upwellingfronts,(2)tidalmixing fronts, (3) buoyant plume fronts, and (4) shelf break fronts. These fronts all have somewhat different dynamics and characteristics, which in turn determine what type of horizontal temperature/sound-speed gradients they produce and where on thecontinentalshelftheyareobserved.Wewilllookatallfourofthesefrontsand presentexampleswherepossible. Upwelling fronts. Upwelling of water at the coasts is a very well-known phenomenon, particularly since it has a profound effect on fishing activity, the Peruvian anchovy fisheries being perhaps the most famous example (Bowden 1983). Specifically, upwelling is the process whereby cool water from depths ontheorderof50–300mispumpedupwardintothesurfacelayerduetotheeffect ofwind,therebybringingnutrientsaltsintothephoticregionsneartheseasurface. Fromthepointofviewofacoustics,thebiologicallyimportanttransportofsaltsto the surface (a salinity signal) is almost irrelevant; however, the transport of cold, deep water to the normally warm surface layer is not, as this temperature signal providesanappreciablesound-speedsignal,andindeedanacoustic“front.” Physically,upwellingiscausedbytwothings:thefirstisthewind-inducedEkman transportofnear-surfacewaterawayfromthecoast(surfaceEkmantransportbeing producedbythebalancebetweenthewindstressandtheCoriolisforce).Thesecondis thecontinuityequationdemandingthattheamountof(warm)surfacewaterthatgets transportedseaward mustbereplaced withanequal amountofdeeper(cold)water beingtransportedshorewardandeventuallytothesurface,soastobalancethemasses. EkmantransportistotherightofthewindintheNorthernHemisphereandtotheleft ofitintheSouthernHemisphere,sothedirectionofthewindalongthecoastiscritical. Weshouldnotethatifthewinddirectionissuchthatitispushingthewarmsurface watersonshore,ratherthanoffshore,ananalogousprocesscalleddownwellingoccurs. Thispushingofwarmwateronshoretendstocreateadeepersurfacewarmlayernear thecoast,ratherthanasharpfront.ThebasicmathematicsofboththeEkmantransport and the continuity equation are to be found in numerous elementary oceanography textbooks, and we would refer the reader to the treatments by Bowden (1983) and Cushman-Roisin(1994)fordetails. Thoughoneshoulduseamoreexactdynamicalmodeltoconstructthegeometry of an upwelling front, we can create a first-order estimate of upwelling frontal structure useful for acoustics from rather simple dynamics. In the top and bottom panelsofFig.2.4,weshowatwo-layeroceanbeforeandafteranupwellingevent, withtheinitialwarmsurfacelayerbeingofdepthH,densityr ,andsoundspeedc . 1 1 This layer overlies a (mathematically) infinitely deep layer with density r and 2 2.3 HorizontalStratificationandItsVariability:FrontsandEddies,SurfaceDucts... 25 Fig.2.4 Toppanelshows warm thetwo-layersystemofwarm surface H C1, p1 surfacelayeroverlyingadeep layer coolerlayernearthecoast. Lowerpanelshowsresultof cool, thick upwelling,wheredeepcooler subsurface waterisbroughtuptothe layer C2, p2 surfaceduetothewarmer surfacelayerbeingpushed seaward.ThedistanceRover whichthefrontextendsisa warm gooddynamicapproximation, surface H C1, p1 buttheexactshapeofthe layer frontneedsamoreexact dynamicaltreatmentto cool, thick R determine–ourfigure subsurface aboveisan“artist’s layer C2, p2 conception”inthatrespect soundspeedc .Afterupwellingoccurs,thecoldlowerlayerrisesfromdepthHto 2 thesurfaceoveradistanceR,whichisgivenbyCushman-Roisin(1994)as R¼ðg0HÞ1=2=f ; (2.13) C where ðr (cid:4)r Þ g0 ¼ 2 1 g (2.14) r 2 isthe“reducedgravity”(seeAppendixA.3)and f ¼2O siny (2.15) C E istheso-calledCoriolisparameter,whereO istherotationalrateoftheearthandy E is the latitude. Thus, one has a horizontal sound-speed gradient which is sharp across the surface layer, and has a depth average value (over the layer depth) of ðc (cid:4)c Þ=R. Here, R is typically on the order of 5–10 km, and Dc is of the order 1 2 10–50 m/s so that the average horizontal gradient is of the order 1–10 m/s/km or 10(cid:4)3(cid:4)10(cid:4)2c(cid:4)1.Thisisanappreciablehorizontalgradientforacoustics. Tidal mixing fronts. Whether or not a thermocline develops in the late spring or earlysummerdependscriticallyonwhetherornotthereisenoughturbulentkinetic energygeneratedthroughoutthewatercolumntomixheatdownwardattherateat which it is being received at the surface. Both surface winds and tides can create turbulence and mixing, but the winds are an intermittent mechanism, whereas the tidesareaconstantone.Thus,wewillconsiderherethecasewherethemixingis duetotidesalone. 26 2 CoastalOceanography,Geology,andBiology From a rather simple derivation (Bowden 1983), one can show that there is completeverticalmixingofthewatercolumnwhen H (cid:3)70(cid:4)100perm(cid:4)2s(cid:4)3; (2.16) U3 t whereHisthewatercolumndepthinmetersandU isthetidalcurrentspeedinm/s. t This form easily lets us see the depths to which one expects full mixing. Taking U equal approximately to 0.5–0.7 m/s (about one to one and one-half knots) t as typical tidal current magnitudes, full mixing will be seen in water columns with depths between ~10 and 35 m. Past this point, a two (or more)-layer system willevolve.Forwaterdepthsgreaterthanthismixingdepth,thelowerlayerwillbe atsomesoundspeedc ,whereasabovethemixedregion,thewatersoundspeed mixed willbec (inthetwo-layermodel).Thisidealizedsystemagreeswellwithreal upper worldmeasurementsofthiseffect,asshownbycomparingoursimplemodelwith data,asseenbelow(Bowden1983),inFig.2.5. Buoyant plume fronts. River outflow plumes create fronts that are well known to even lay observers, as large river discharges after storms often contain copious amounts of mud and fine sediment, which show the edges of the plume sharply against the much clearer, deeper water. However, these plume fronts are not as acousticallystrongastheotherthreetypes,forreasonswenowdiscuss.Themain signal of a buoyant (freshwater) river plume front is salinity, which may be ~20–30 ppt compared to 35 ppt in the deep ocean. This creates up to an ~15–20m/ssound-speedcontrastbetweenthebuoyantplumeanditssurroundings, anotinsignificantdisturbance.However,thesestrong salinity signalsonlyextend over the top meter or two of the water column near their origin. These plumes then travel many tens of kilometers outside the river mouth, and the initial fresh- water pulse is spread out both horizontally (by wind and currents) and vertically (by mixing), thus diluting it. By the time river salinity signals have traveled an appreciabledistance,thesound-speeddisturbanceisonly5m/sorless.Thisisweak asfarascoastalhorizontalfrontsareconcerned.However,thenear-surfaceacoustic duct that they can create can be very effective in ducting sound at higher frequencies,aswewilldiscusslaterinoursectiononsurfaceducts. Shelf break fronts. If the buoyant plume fronts are the least important ones to acoustics, their distant offshore cousins, the shelf break fronts, are perhaps the most important. The shelf break regions of the world (the lines where the conti- nental shelves dip abruptly into the continental slopes, usually at depths of 100–200 m) are often the boundaries between very cool (but somewhat fresher) coastal waters and very warm (but somewhat saltier) deep waters influenced by largeboundarycurrentsystemssuchastheGulfStreamandKuroshio.Anexample of a well-measured shelf break front from the 1996 PRIMER experiment (Gawarkiewicz et al. 2004; Sperry et al. 2003) is shown in Fig. 2.6. This front obviouslyhasalotofstructure,unlikeoursimplecartooninFig.2.2(3),andserves
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