Does a depth variable sound‐speed profile matter for SW06 geoacoustic inversion

This work will discuss the effects of depth variability for a sound‐speed profile with regard to goeacoustic inversion on some simulated SW06 "data". First, broadband (400‐800 Hz) simulated "data" are generated using RAM_PE (by Collins) in the time domain for some short range (less than 1 km) SW06 scenarios. Next, the first 4 boundary reflection arrivals (from surface, bottom, surface‐bottom, bottom‐surface) are studied as a function of source range and depth, phone depth, and sound‐speed variability. Finally, we examine the effects of sound‐speed depth variability on geoacoustic inversion via MFP. We note that knowledge of array phone locations has a large impact on inversion capabilities.