In the sea acoustic waves can be used for the transmission of information in an analogous way as electromagnetic waves are used in the air.
However,
in sharp contrast with the propagation of electromagnetic waves in air,
acoustic waves in the ocean are constrained by the significant effects of dispersion, boundary reflection,
attenuation and space-time variability induced by the ocean waveguide,
which introduces significant changes in the information which arrives at the receiving system.
The detailed study of signal propagation in the ocean represents a formidable task,
not only for the physical modeling of such propagation,
but also for the development of software and electronic systems for underwater signal processing.
In this context Underwater Acoustics represents a multi-disciplinary area of research,
which merges in a common base fundamental concepts of the following fields:
- signal processing,
- physical oceanography,
- wave propagation in fluids in solids,
- stochastic phenomena,
- inverse problems.
Therefore,
Underwater Acoustics stands on a solid basis for the development of research tools for such fundamental sciences as
sea biology, geophysics and oceanography.
