Observations of 0th order head waves in the yellow sea

Abstract

Measurements made as part of the 1996 Yellow Sea experiment, undertaken by China and the U.S. are revisited with focus on precursor arrivals. The distinction between a first-order head wave (zero gradient) and a zeroth-order interference head wave (non-zero, positive gradient) is highlighted, with the latter being much more energetic and the first- and zeroth-order terminology relating to their ray series classification. A parameter, ζ, named the Chekin parameter, is described, and an analysis of the potential range of ζ prior to carrying out geoacoustic inversion of data is suggested. © 2010 American Institute of Physics.