Decoupling Environmental Complexity: Direct Analysis in Sonar Performance Space

The impact of environmental variability on sonar performance variability is crucial to understanding how to effectively manage sonar resources. Complexities arise due to the fact that it is the interplay between different environmental parameters that determine the sonar performance. It may not only be the sound speed profile, but also the bottom depth and wind speed. Consequently, there is need for an algorithm that can capture the combined effects of all included environmental parameters. We propose a method that uses empirical orthogonal functions and clustering on computed signal excesseses, in sonar performance space. This bypasses all environmental parameters altogether. The resulting clusters are then analysed and compared with the clusters one would get by only focusing on one environmental parameter, the sound speed profile in our case