A semi-empirical predictive model for the attenuation properties of fine-grained sediments

It is of interest to be able to predict the acoustic properties (especially the compressional sound speed and attenuation) of sediments that can be classified as mud. An inverse problem is constructed to infer estimates of the surface sediment attenuation, the attenuation gradient, and the frequency exponent and applied to acoustic data in the 10–400 Hz band collected in the Gulf of Oman basin. The results indicate that, unlike a sandy seabed, the surface attenuation is about 0.005 dB/m-kHz and the frequency exponent is close to unity. These estimates are compared to those of an inversion analyses for a shallow-water site in the Gulf of Mexico, which is an environment with similar sediment properties. Further, the inferred attenuation values from both experiments are compared to calculated values from the Buckingham grain-shearing model. The geological histories of the shallow- and deep-water seabeds are compared with the intent of constructing a semi-empirical predictive model for the attenuation propert...