A mean multipath intensity relation for sound propagation through a random ocean front

By considering the stochastic nature of phase fluctuations in the ocean, the conventional ray theory intensity relation was extended in an earlier paper [J. A. Neubert, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 51, 310–322 (1972)] to permit consideration of partial coherence in multipath problems. Although this relation worked well in the open ocean [J. A. Neubert, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 62, 326–334 (1977)], it proves to be incomplete for sound propagation through a random ocean front. By considering also the amplitude fluctuations, a mean multipath intensity relation (as well as its standard deviation σ1) is found that takes into consideration the strong horizontal sound‐speed gradients that occur in certain important ocean frontal regions.