Effects of Source Distribution in Depth on Ocean Ambient Noise Field

In an ocean environment bubbles are produced by breaking wind waves. The bubble population varies as a function of depth. For fully developed seas with wind speeds above 5 m/s at 10m above the sea surface, the bubble density will be much greater in a small range of depths near the surface than at other depths. Traditional wind-noise models, which assume that all of these noise sources are located near the surface of an infinite sea, are valid in this case. For slower wind speeds, the relevant bubble density is not as narrowly constrained in depth, and this assumption is no longer reasonable. Based on the stages of the evolution of a bubble plume and the variation of the bubble population with depth and radius, a new ocean ambient noise model has been developed that accounts for this. The theoretical results from this model are consistent with experimental data.