Acoustic monitoring of the tide height and slope-water intrusion at the New Jersey Shelf in winter conditions

Waveguide invariant theory is used to describe the frequency shifts of constant acoustic intensity level curves in broadband signal spectrograms measured at the New Jersey Shelf during the winter of 2003. The broadband signals (270–330Hz) were transmitted from a fixed source and received at three fixed receivers, located at 10, 20, and 30km range along a cross-shelf propagation track. The constant acoustic intensity level curves of the received signals indicate regular frequency shifts that can be well predicted by the change in water depth observed through tens of tidal cycles. A second pattern of frequency shifts is observed at only 30km range where significant variability of slope-water intrusion was measured. An excellent agreement between observed frequency shifts of the constant acoustic intensity levels and those predicted by the change in tide height and slope water elevations suggests the capability of long-term acoustic monitoring of tide and slope water intrusions in winter conditions.