Acoustic anomalies in the boundary layers of the ocean

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Abstract

Boundary layers – the near-surface and bottom layers – play an important role in the structure of the ocean. The involvement of bubbles in the sea water column in surface waves leads to the appearance of bubble clouds, which can reach significant depths in strong winds. Bubbles may also be contained in the bottom layers in the areas of the outlet of underwater gas flares. They are often compared with the presence of gas hydrate deposits, or with the release of gases through cracks in the earth’s crust near active volcanoes. The paper discusses methods and experimental results on the acoustics of boundary layers in the ocean containing a two-phase liquid with gas bubbles, as well as methods for their diagnosis. The possibilities of acoustic sounding for visualization of complex structure, dynamics and diagnostics of anomalies of physical properties of boundary layers are shown. Typical experimental results obtained in the Far Eastern seas are presented and discussed.

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About the authors

Vladimir A. Bulanov

V.I. Il’ichev Pacific Oceanological Institute, FEB RAS

Author for correspondence.
Email: bulanov@poi.dvo.ru
ORCID iD: 0000-0002-5504-9042

Doctor of Sciences in Physics and Mathematics, Chief Researcher

Russian Federation, Vladivostok

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Supplementary files

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2. Fig. 1. Functional diagram of the hardware complex for measuring sound scattering at different frequencies

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3. Fig. 2. Functional diagram of the bottom system

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4. Fig. 3. Sound scattering by surface bubble clouds and simultaneous sound scattering by zooplankton

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5. Fig. 4. Bubble size distribution function g(R) at different depths during different periods of storm development

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6. Fig. 5. Variability over time of the average volume concentration of gas x(t) enclosed in bubbles (a) and the spectrum of the gas concentration function (b) in the presence of bubble clouds formed by the collapse of wind waves

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7. Fig. 6. Changes in the sound absorption coefficient over time at a frequency of 145 kHz at wind speeds from 9 to 13 m/s

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8. Fig. 7. Structure of the acoustic field with a frequency f = 1 kHz in a channel with a surface layer of bubbles 7 m thick at different bubble concentrations: х = 0, х = 10-8, х = 10-7, х = 10-6. Emitter at a depth of 10 m

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9. Fig. 8. Spatial decay of the acoustic field in the presence and absence of a surface layer of bubbles at frequencies of 800 Hz (curves 1, 2) and 100 Hz (curves 3, 4) at different bubble concentrations: a) x = 10-7, b) x = 10-6

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10. Fig. 9. Acoustic image of bubble plumes in the Piltun Bay area (Sea of ​​Okhotsk) at a frequency of 100 kHz. The inset shows the strength of the sound-scattering bubble layer.

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11. Fig. 10. Experimental and theoretical dependences of sound attenuation at a frequency of 2 kHz during propagation through bubble torches

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12. Fig. 11. Deep-sea 25 kHz sound scattering anomalies recorded near Atlasov Island on 04.05.2021.

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13. Fig. 12. Distribution of the volume concentration of gas in bubbles x in the inhomogeneity near the bottom

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14. Fig. 13. Distribution of scattering of sound with a frequency of 12.4 kHz on bubble structures on the shelf of the Sea of ​​Japan on 15.07.2000 on the research vessel Professor Gagarinsky

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15. Fig. 14. Dependence of the volume of outgoing gases in the bubbles that make up the GF on time along the route. The inset shows the distribution of the scattering coefficient of sound with a frequency of 12.4 kHz in Peter the Great Bay, Sea of ​​Japan (20–23.10.2022).

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