Waveguide invariant analysis for modeling time-frequency striations in a range-dependent environment

The waveguide invariant is a useful parameter for understanding the behavior of interference patterns (e.g., striations in time-frequency plots) resulting from broadband acoustic sources in shallow water waveguides. It is possible to model these striations for range-dependent environments using conventional parabolic equation methods; although this approach can be computationally intensive as a full field must be created for each frequency and azimuthally dependent geometry. This letter discusses the formulation and use of a range-dependent waveguide invariant distribution that can be used to describe spectral striation patterns using a fraction of the computing power required by parabolic equation methods.