Application of the parabolic equation to sound propagation

in a refracting atmosphere
Kenneth E. Gilbert

NationalCenter
for Physical
4coustics,
University,
Mississippi
38677
Michael J. White

u.s..4rrnyConstruction
Engineering
Research
Laboratory,P.O. Box4005,2902NewmarkDrive,
Champaign,
Illinois61820-1505

(Received12July 1988;accepted
for publication18October1988)
A wide-angleparabolicequation(PE) modelis presentedthat is applicableto sound

propagation
ina steady
(nonturbulent)
atmosphere
overlying
flat,1oc,11y
reacting
ground
surface.The numericalaccuracyof the PE modelis shownby comparingPE calculationsto
calculationsfrom a "fast-fieldprogram"(FFP). For upwardrefraction,the PE and FFP
solutionsagreeto within 1 dB out to rangeswherethe sound-pressure
levelsdropbelowthe
accuracylimitsof bothmodels.For downwardrefraction,the PE andFFP agreeto within 1
dB exceptat deepinterference
minima.Parabolicequationcalculations
arealsocomparedto
measuredvaluesof excessattenuationfor 15 differentcombinations
of frequencies
and ranges.
In general,the PE modelgivesgoodagreementwith the averageexperimentalvalues.For
upwardrefractionat the highestfrequency(630 Hz), however,the PE predictsa strong
shadow zone that is not observed in the data.

PACS numbers:43.28.Fp

INTRODUCTION

ocean environmentswith significanthorizontal variation

Over 40 yearsago,LeontovichandFock introducedthe

parabolicequation(PE) methodand appliedit to electro-

(e.g.,continental
slopes,
oceanfronts,andeddies).
gThePE

cantreatsuchcomplicatedenvironments
in a relativelysimple
way
because
it
neglects
backscattered
wavesand usesa
magnetic
wavepropagation.
,.2Since
thattime,thePEmeth"marching"
algorithm
to
propagate
waves
outward
fromthe
od hasbeenusedin suchdiverseareasasquantummechansource.
Given
a
starting
solution
at
the
source,
the
PE adics,plasmaphysics,seismicwavepropagation,optics,and
vances
the
solution
in
range,
taking
into
account
horizontal
underwater acoustics.In outdoor sound propagation,a
numberof potentialapplications
exist,
3 but, nevertheless, changesin the environmentas the solutionis steppedout.
Statedmathematically,
the PE approximates
a complicated
thePE methodhasseenonlylimiteduse?
boundary
value
problem
with
a
simpler
initial
valueprobThe presentarticlediscusses
a wide-anglePE modelrecentlydevelopedfor soundpropagationthrougha nonturbulentatmosphere
overlyinga flat, locallyreactingground

surface?
Thepurpose
isto showthatthePE algorithm
can
giveaccuratenumericalsolutionsfor soundpropagation
in
realisticoutdoor environments.In particular, we want to
show that the PE can accuratelyhandle arbitrary soundspeedprofilesand the locallyreactingimpedancecondition
usedin atmosphericacousticsto representthe effectof the
ground.Consequently,
we limit the numericalcomparisons
to situations with no horizontal

variation

in the environ-

ment. Suchenvironmentscan alsobe handledby the "fast-

fieldprogram"(FFP),6'?sowecanmakea detailedcomparisonof the two solutions.To further test the model, we

comparethe PE predictionswith measuredvaluesof excess

attenuation.

Sinceour ultimateobjectiveisto treatmorecomplicated

outdoorenvironments,it will behelpfulto brieflydiscussthe
basicideasthat motivatethe presentwork.
In the areasof applicationmentionedabove,the primary motivationfor the PE generallyhasbeento treat wave
propagationin a complicatedinhomogeneous
medium.In
underwateracoustics,for example,the primary.motivation
for thePE hasbeentheneedto predictsoundpropagationin
630

J. Acoust.Soc. Am. 85 (2}, February1989

lem.

Although we consider only horizontally stratified

("range-independent")
environments
in thisarticle,the PE

algorithmitself,givenrange-dependent
inputs,canin principle predictsoundpropagationin a complicatedrange-dependentenvironmentsuchas a turbulentatmosphere.The
ability of the PE to treat suchinhomogeneous
environments

is, in fact,themainreasonfor developing

the presentatmosphericPE model.Hence, whenin this article we statethat
the presentPE modelis limitedto range-independent
environments,one should keep in mind that it is not the PE
algorithmitselfthat hasthe limitations,but ratherthe present environmentalinputs being usedin the calculations.
With a realisticrange-dependent
description
of theenvironment, the PE model presentedhere shouldbe able to treat
complicatedrange-dependent
effectssuch as atmospheric
turbulenceand irregulargroundtopography.
I. THEORY

A wide-angleparabolic equation can be derived from

the so-called"one-waywaveequation,"which is applicable
to soundpropagationin situationswhere backscattereden-

ergyisnegligible.
gThissection
discusses
theformaldevelop-

0001-4966/89/020630-08500.80

1989 AcousticalSocietyof America

630

mentof a wide-angle
parabolic
equationfromtheone-way
oa0
_ i(4 (5)
oar
equation
andgiveslthe
physical
motivation
fortheapproximations
used.Webeginbyconstructing
theformaloperator where
i istheunitoperator.
(Forthesake
ofconciseness,
representation
of theone-waywaveequationusingtheusual unit operatorswill besuppressed
hereafter.) The wavenumtwo-waywaveequationasa startingpoint.

A,,Operator solutionfor the one-way wave equation

Considerthe two-way(Helmholtz)waveequationfor
the acousticpressure
P in an environment
with azimuthal
symmetry,

(oa2lea oa2)
Here,the wavenumber
k is a functionof bothranger and
heightz andis givenby to/c(r,z), whereto is the angular
frequency
andc is the soundspeed.The associated
farfield
equation
forthevariableu = x P is

Oa?+Q
u=0,

(2)

wlhere
theoperator
Q is defined
as09/z q-k 2.SinceEq.

ber for the carrierwavegois chosensothat it is doseto the

dominanthorizontalwavenumber
in the spectraldecompositionof. A typicalchoice,for example,isto set% equalto
to/, where is the averagesoundspeed.The motivationfor
sucha choiceis basedessentiallyon a plane-wavepictureof
propagation.
For nearlyhorizontalplane-wave
propagation,
the horizontal wavenumberis between% and gocos0....
where0, is the maximumangleof propagationwith respectto the horizontal.Althoughthe plane-wave
pictureis
only approximate,it providesan estimatefor % that has
provensufficiently
accuratefor thecalculations
donesofar.
We advancethesolutionin rangeby integratingEq. (5).
For shortenoughrangesteps,we cantake Q to be independentof range.The formaloperatorsolutionto Eq. (5) then
is

o6(r+ Ar) = exp[iAr(,- -- go)]06(r),

(6)

wherehr = r -- ro.Ultimately,we wantan implicitsolution

scheme
of theCrank-Nicolson
typefiHence,wewriteEq.

(2) contains
a second
derivative
in r, it permitsbothforward
(6) asan implicit equation,
andbackwardpropagationof sound.We want to derivean
equationthat treatsonly forwardpropagation.To obtain exp[-- i(Ar/2)(x/ -- go)](r + Ar)
suchan equation,wemomentarilytakek to beindependent
= exp[i(Ar/2)(x/Q-- too)
](r).
of'rangeandwriteEq. (2) astheproductof two operators,

(i4-ix[)(r-iv)u
=0.

Since
thespectral
values
oftheoperator
(Ar/2) (x/- - %)

(3) aregenerallymuchlessthan 1,wemakea linearexpansionof

The solutionfor u that is obtainedby solvingthe one-way

equation,

= + ix/u,
oar

(7)

(4)

isalsoa solutionto Eq. (2) for range-independent

k. Note,
however,that whilethe two-waywaveequation,Eq. (2),
permitsboth two-wayand one-waypropagation,the oneway wave equation,Eq. (4), explicitlyexcludestwo-way
propagation.
Theone-wayequationpropagates
wavesexclusivelyin the forwardor backwarddirection,respectively,
dependingon whetherthe ( + ) or ( - ) signis chosen.
Ilk isindependent
of range,ashasbeenassumed
for the
moment,thenEq. (4) witha ( + ) signcorrectlypropagates
a forward-going
wave.For a realisticatmosphere
wherek
varies'withrange,however,Eq. (4) accurately
propagates
a
forward-going
waveonly if the backward-going
energyis
smallcomparedto the forward-going
energy.That is, Eq.
(4.) applieswhenechoesare negligible.Hereafter,we shall
as:sume
thattheacousticfieldisdominatedby forward-going
wavesandthat propagation
is accuratelydescribed
by Eq.

the exponentialoperatorsin Eq.(7). Usingthisapproximation,the solutionfor bcanbe writtenas

[ 1- (i Ar/2)(x - too)](r+ Ar)

= [1+ (iAr/2)(x--Co)]06(r).

(8)

To actuallysolvefor 6, we needan approximation

for the
squarerootof the operatorQ. The approachtakenis to use

the"rational
approximation"
forx- discussed
below.
B. Rationalapproximation
for the operatorx/

Theideaofa rational
approximation
forx/0-wasoriginally introducedby Claerboutfor extrapolationof seismic

waves.
9 To useClaerbout's
method,we firstwritex/Q-as
tcox/1
+ q, whereq = (Q/ - 1). Theassumption
isthat
thespectrum
of Q doesnotdepartmuchfrom sothatthe
spectralvaluesof q are alwaysmuchlessthan I in magnitude. Hence,we might considermakinga linearexpansion

andsetx/-1q-q equalto 1 q-q/2. Thisexpansion,

in fact,

leadsto the narrow-angleparabolicequationoriginallyintroduced

intounderwater
acoustics
byTappert.oIn orderto
Sincewearenowlimitingthesolutionto forward-going obtaina moreaccurateapproximation,we couldkeepmore
waves, it is convenientto remove a "carrier wave" by
termsin the expansion.However,suchan approachwould
defining a new, more slowly varying wave , where
leadto a morenumericallycomplicated
algorithm.The ap(4).

--=u exp(-- igor).The removalof a carrierwaveis not

essentialfor the formal derivationgivenhere,but later it will
be important for a numericalsolution.
The equationfor , which hasa carrier waveremoved,is
given by
631

J. Acoust. Sec. Am., Vol. 85, No. 2, February 1989

proachtaken by Claerboutis to write

x/ + q (A + Bq)/(C + Dq),

(9)

where A, B, C, and D are real constants(A = 1, B = 4

,

C----l, D= I) and I/(C+Dq)

meansthe inverseof

K.E. Gilbert and M. J. White: Applicationof the parabolic equation

631

(C + Dq). Expandedin a powerseriesin q, the rationalap-

proximation
aboveagrees
withtheexpansion
of x/1+ q
throughthequadraticterm.Thusweobtainquadraticaccuracywithanapproximation
thatweshallseelaterisnomore
complicated
numerically
thana linearexpansion.
C. Operator equation for wide-angle propagation

Substitution
oftherational
approximation
forx- into
Eq. (8) givesthefollowingoperatorequationfor advancing
4 from r to r + Ar:

M-&(r + At) = M+0(r),

(10)

where

pendence
of the acousticfield.Then the operator-function
equationsbecomematrix-vectorequations.
The matrices
are tridiagonalandthe vectorsareof dimensionN, whereN
is the numberof pointsusedto discretizethe field.In the
discussionbelow, vectorsare denoted by boldfacechar-

acters.No specialnotationis usedfor matrices,sincethey

can be easilyidentifiedfrom the contextin which they are
used.

A. Finite element

discretization

In parabolicequationmodels,a commonmethodfor
discretizingthe vertical dependence
of is finite differences.
8 Here, insteadof finite differences,we usea closely

relatedmethod,linearfiniteelements.
ll'l: This approach
makes
it
easy
to
incorporate
small-scale
vertical
variations
in
(ll)
bothdensityandsoundspeed.In addition,it is straightforgives wardtoincorporate
nonuniform
verticalpointspacing
in the

M = (C+Dq) + (i%Ar/2)[(A -C) + (B-D)q].

Using q= (Q/o - 1) = (2/z2+k2)/o - I

M in termsmorefamiliar operators,
2

M =M l __+m2+ (M3 __+

m4) --

'

numericalgrid.

We firstexpand6 in termsof linearfiniteelementbasis

(12)

functions,
hj(Z):

whereMi' m2, m3, andM4 are

(13)
Ml = C + D( n2-- 1),
M2 = (i% Ar/2)[ (A - C) + (B- D)(n 2-- 1)1,

(15)

and

M4 = i( Ar/2Co)
(B -- D).

(19)

(r + Ar,z)= J Dhj(z),

(20)

and

(14)

M 3---D/,

c)(r,z)
--- Chj(z)

(16)

In Eqs.(13) and(14), theindexof refractionn isdefinedas

/c, where and c are, respectively,a referencesoundspeed
and the actualsoundspeed.
As will be discussedin Sec.II, the numerical solutionof

Eq. (10) usingthe definitions

for M in Eqs. ( 11)-(16)
requiresthata largebutsimplesystemof equations
besolved
on eachrangestep.

where
theCandDj aretheexpansion
coefficients.
Thebasis
functions
h(z) arethe"hat"functions
shown
inFig.1.The
expansion
coefficients
C andDj are simplyc)(r,z)and
( r + Ar,zj), respectively.
Notethatexpanding
c)(r,z) and
(r + Ar,z) in termsof hat functionsis equivalentto linear

interpolation
between
thegridpointsz. Thebasisfunction
formalismgivesa convenientmatrix representation
of the
operators
M e. To obtainthematrixrepresentation,
thehat
functionexpansionfor is substitutedinto Eq. ( 10):

[MI-M2
+(M3-M4)(';
1z)]
(r+r,z)h
p

D: Vertical density dependence

Includingverticaldensityvariationsin Eq. ( 1) yieldsa

waveequationthat containsthe operatorp(c/cz)(1/p)
X(c/9z) insteadof o2/oz
2. By replacing2/z with
p(/z) (l/p) (/z) in Eq. ( 1), suchvariations
canbeaccountedfor. Makingthisreplacement
anddividingbyp, we
obtainslightlymodifiedformsfor M e. In s. ( 10)-(14),

=[M,+M
2+(M3+Ozp &]l

(21)

Then, we multiplyby h (z) andintegrateoverz. The integration requirescomputationof integralsof the form

m
(1)=fh,hdz,

we have

(22)

za zp/

(17)

M,--+M,/p,

(18)

and

n = 1,2.

With the numerical

I h h2

hi.
1 hj hi+
1

hN.
1 hN

method used here to discretize the verti-

caldependence
of 4, the modifiedformof M isaseasyto
representas the originalform.

, -'

Z] Z2 Z3

Zj.
l Zj Zj+1

ZN.
2 ZN.
I ZN

HEIGHT

II. NUMERICAL

IMPLEMENTATION

This sectionoutlinesthe numericalapproachused to

solveEq. (10). Statedsimply,we discretizethe verticalde632.

J. Acoust.Sec.Am.,Vol.85, No.2, February1989

FIG. 1. Basisfunctions ("hat" functions) used to discretizethe vertical

dependence
of the acousticfieldin Eqs. (19) and (20).

K.E. GilbertandM.d. White:Application

oftheparabolic
equation

632

C. Starting field

f 1

Sincethe PE algorithmsolvesan initialvalueproblem,

the initial field o(z) is neededat the startingrangero.
(Typically,re= 0 is used.)The presentPE modelusesthe
standard
Gaussian
startingfieldproposed
byBrock.3In all

and

H(3)
= hizz-zz
hdz,

(24) casesexamined,the Gaussianstarter gavegoodagreement

where
fi=pc: isthebulkmodulus
forair.Ifp-(z) and

with known solutions.

- I (Z) arerepresented
aspiecewise
linearfunctions,
wecan
derivesimpleanalyticfunctionsfor the matrices,H( 1),
D. Numerical accuracy
H(2), andH( 3). (The Appendixgivesanalyticexpressions
To judgethe accuracyof the parabolicequationmodel,
fortheH ma[rices.
) Wenoteherethat,because
a hatfunc- we comparethe PE solutionwith the solutionfrom a fasttionh(z) isnonzero
onlyoverz toz;. , theH matrices fieldprogramdevelopedat theU.S. Army ConstructionEnaretridiagonal.
SincetheH matrices
aretridiagonal,
thema- gineering
Research
Laboratoryfi'*
Thecomparisons
arefor
tricesM e are alsotridiagonal.Hence,with (r,zi) and
upwardrefractionand downwardrefractionabovea finite

(r + Ar,z) defined
astheelements
ofthevectors
(r) and

(r + At), respectively,
weobtaina largebutsparse
system
of equations
of theform
M-(r+

ar) = R(r),

impedancesurface.The sourcefrequencyis 40 Hz with

sourceand receiverheightsof 2 and 1 m, respectively.
The
groundimpedanceis computedfrom the empiricalequa-

(25)

tionsof DelanyandBazley,
4usinga flowresistivity
of 200
cgs
rayIs.
The
resulting
ground
impedance
in
pc
units
is
w:here
the right-hand
sideR(r) is obtained
by multiplying
31.4
+
i38.5.
The
sound
speed
is
linear
initially,
and
is
(r) byM +. Oneachrangestep,theequations
aresolved
cappedby a homogeneous
half-space
above,according
to
usingoausselimination.

c(z)
={co
+gz'for
z<h,
Co+gh,
forz>h,

, B. Boundary conditions

Incorporatinggeneralboundaryconditionsinto the
parabolic
equationisdifficult.Fortunately,
theusualboundary conditionimposedat theEarth'ssurfacein atmospheric
acoustics
issimpleenoughthat it canbeeasilyincorporated
into the PE. In atmospheric
acoustics,
oneusuallyassumes
thatthegroundisa locallyreactingsurface.
Thisassumption
resultsin animpedance
thatisindependent
of anglebutdependent
onfrequency.
Hence,at a givenfrequency,
thecondition to be satisfied at the Earth's surface is

9+ i_= O,
0z

and h is 100 m.

A comparison
betweenthePE andFFP for upwardre-

fraction(g= --0.12 s-) is shownin Fig. 2 asa plotof

excess
attenuation
versus
horizontal
range.
.sOutto 2.5km
from thesource,thePE andFFP calculations
agreeto within I dB. Beyond2.5 km, numericalinaccuracybecomes
more evidentin both models,with the accuracydegrading
firstin the PE. For the presentcalculation,
it appearsthat
the PE and FFP solutionsare both numericallyaccurateout

(26)

where
koisthewavenumber
inairatz= 0 and2 isthe
complex
ground
impedance
d),vided
bya reference
value
for
pcforair.(Note:Hereafter,
Z willbereferred
tosimply
as
thegroundimpedance.
) Withlinearfiniteelements,
varies
linearlybetween
gridpoints.Equation(26) thuscanbewrit-

lO

o-

PE

-to4

ten as

(3,--Cboe)
-3ikcb--9-
--O,
2

(28)

whereg isthesound-speed
gradient,z isheight,cois330m/s,

(27)

whereAz = z -- zo,o = b(zo),andb= b(z).The point

0-

-30
-

zoison the ground,andz is the firstpointabovethe ground.

Equation(27) yieldsan additionalequationthat is included
in the setof equationssolvedwhen the field is advanced.It

shouMbenotedthattheapproximation
for)/& isone-sided
(ii.e.,not symmetric).Becauseof this,z - zomustbe taken
quite,.small
(a tenthof a wavelengthin mostcases).
IX[earthe top of the numericalgrid, we want to havean
oatgoingwave,i.e., a radiationboundarycondition.We can
alpproximatesucha boundaryconditionby addingartificial

attenuationto the top part of the sound-speed

profile.The
attenttationabsorbssoundreachingthetop of the numerical
gridsothat theamplitudesof wavesreflectingoffthe top end
of the grid are greatly reduced.
6;;t3

d. Acoust.Sec.Am.,Vol.85, No.2, February1989

-50-

-60-

1.25

2.50

RANGE

3.75

5.00

[kml

FIG. 2. Comparisonof parabolicequationand fast-fieldprogramcalculationsfor upward refraction.

K.E. GilbertandM. J. White:Application

of theparabolic
equation

633

to 2.5-3.0 km. Beyondthis distance,spuriousoscillations werelocated1.2 m abovethe groundat horizontaldistances

(numerical "noise") dominate the result, and the curves
rangingfrom 305 to 1550m from the source.The acoustic
ceaseto decay with range. Note, however,that when nudata are reportedas excessattenuation.(Atmosphericabmericalnoisetakesover,thesound-pressure
levelisalready sorptionandsphericalspreadingwereremoved.)
120dB belowthefree-fieldvalueat 1m. In a realapplication,
The temperatureand wind speedweremeasuredat four
such a signalwould probablybe below the ambient noise heights(1, 3, 10, and 33 m), and convertedto an effective
levelsothe numericallimitationsin Fig. 2 wouldnot matter.
soundspeed.Oncethe effectivesoundspeedwasdetermined
Figure 3 showsa modelcomparisonfor downwardreat each height, a refraction parameter a was obtained by
fraction(g = + 0.12s-). With downwardrefraction,en- fittingthe soundspeedwith a logarithmicprofileof the form
ergy is trapped in the surfaceduct formed by the soundspeed profile and ground surface. As a result, the
sound-pressure
levelsfall off slowlywith increasingrange.
whereCo= 340 m/s and Zo= 0.1 m. At a givenrangeand
Hence,numericalnoiseis not a problemasit waswith upfrequency,the measured
excess
attenuationdatawereplotwardrefraction.Surface-duct
energyispropagated
by a limted
as
a
function
of
the
refraction
parametera. Positivevalited numberof "leaky modes"with differentindividualhoriues
of
a
correspond
to
downward
refractionand negative
zontal wavenumbers.The modes add coherently,and,
valuescorrespond
to upwardrefraction.
because of their different individual horizontal wavenumThe groundimpedancewasmeasuredat varioustimes
bers,producethe characteristic
modalinterferencepattern

c(z)= [tCo,
c+aln(z/z)'
forz>z
o,
for
Z<Zo,

seenin Fig. 3. The overallgoodagreementin the peaksindicatesthat the phaseerrors in the PE are small. Accurate
phasesare necessaryfor goodnumericalaccuracyin longrangedeterministicpredictions.

III. COMPARISON

WITH

EXPERIMENT

(29)

usingZuckerwar's
apparatus.
7 The impedance
measurementswerefit to Attenborough'sexponentialporositymod-

elSto determine
theeffective
surfaceflowresistivity
andthe
exponentialdecaycoefficientfor porosity.
The measuredparametersdiscussedabove were the
only environmentalinputsusedin the parabolicequation
calculations;
therewere no adjustableparameters.At each

frequencyand range,the excess

attenuationwascomputed
asa functionof the refractionparametera, usingthe fitted
logarithmicsound-speed
profilesand the averagevaluefor
by Raspetetal.6Beforemakingthecomparison,
however, the measuredgroundimpedance.
wegivea briefdescription
of theprocedures
usedfor thedata
Figure 4 showspredictedand measuredexcessattenuIn this section,we comparethe predictionsof the parabolic equationmodel to experimentalmeasurements
made

collection and model calculations.

ation versusthe refractionparametera for 15 differentcom-

The data reported here were collectedduring an 18-

monthperiod,overopenfarmland,undera varietyof environmentalconditions.Toneswerebroadcastfrom a height

of 30.5 m and averagedover 15-minintervals.Microphones

binations
of rangeandfrequency.
Therangeincreases
from
top to bottom,asindicatedon the right-handside.The frequencyincreasesfrom left to right as indicatedacrossthe

top.Eachexperimental
pointisa 15-minaverage.
Thesolid
line is the parabolicequationprediction.
The parabolicequationmodelgivesa goodestimateof
the averagevalueof excess
attenuation,
exceptat 630 Hz,
wherethe PE greatlyunderestimates
the long-rangepressure levelsfor negativevaluesof a (upward refraction).
With upwardrefraction,the PE calculationhasthe receiver
in a shadowzone,and, asonewould expect,the levelsfall off
dramaticallywith increasingfrequency.The absenceof a
definiteshadowzonein the data for negativea canbe interpretedasevidencefor scatteringof soundby turbulenceinto
the shadowzone. Alternatively,scatteringfrom a rough
groundsurfaceor large-scalechangesin the mean profile
couldbethemechanisms
thatpermitsoundto penetrate
into
the predictedshadowzone.Whatever the reasonfor the dis-

20.

II

crepancy between the model and the data at 630 Hz, it is

----

apparentthat the PE model as it standsis not adequatefor

predictinglong-rangesoundpropagationin an upward-refracting atmosphere.With neutral and downward-refracting atmospheres,
however,the PE modelappearsto be ade-

FFP

quate.

3.5

2.50

RANGE

'

5.00

Ikrnl

IV. SUMMARY

FIG. 3. Comparisonof parabolicequationand fast-fieldprogramcalculations for downward

634

refraction.

J. Acoust.Soc. Am., Vol. 85, No. 2, February1989

AND CONCLUSIONS

A wide-angleparabolic equation model that can treat

atmosphericsoundpropagationover a finite impedancesur-

K.E. Gilbertand M. J. White:Applicationof the parabolicequation

634

40 Hz

160Hz

1o

630Hz

20

1.
-lO

305m

-10{

-or

-20
-o
,

-o

1o

-1 /''.
-20

-1o!

610m

--tO

s,

-60
-80

-1o

-20

-40

-15

-30

-20

884m

-80

-40

-100

-20

-40

-40

-60

1o

-10]
-15

-20

-2

2,

-60

-2

-80

-100

-10

-20

-40

-20

-40

-60

-30
-40

-80

-2 2 5

-2

-'

t550m

-80

-60

-2 2 5

1150m

-100

-120!

-2 2 5

REFRACTION PARAMETER, a (rids)

FIG.
4.Comparison
ofparabolic
equalion
calculations
with
measured
values
ofexcess
attenuation.
Oneach
graph,
the
abscissa
isthe
refraction
parameter
a
and
the
ordinate
isthe
negative
ofexcess
attenuation.
The
frequency
and
range
are
indicated
along
the
top
and
side,
respectively.
Each
data
point
isa15-min
average;
thesolidlineistheparabolic
equation
calculation.

635

d.Acoust.
Sec.
Am.,
VoL
85,No.
2,February
1989

K.E.
Gilbert
and
M.d.White:
Application
o[theparabolic
equation 635

facehasbeendeveloped.
The modelwasshownto givegood
agreementwith calculationsfrom a fast-fieldprogram.
The parabolicequationmodelalsowascomparedwith
Note that, sincethe ith basisfunction hi (z) overlapsonly
excessattenuationmeasurements
and found to adequately
with its nearestneighbor,we have H(n)= 0 unless
predictthe averageexcessattenuationfor neutralor down- j ----i,i + 1. That is, the H matricesare tridiagonal.For the
ward-refractingatmospheres
but not for upward-refracting
samereason,the limits of integrationare zi_ 1 to z+ for
atmospheres.
For upward refraction,the PE predicteda
H,n), zi_ toz forH,_ (n),andz i tozi+ forH,+ (n).
deepshadowzoneat the receiverat 630 Hz, while the data
To obtainsimpleanalyticexpressions
for the H matrishowedno definiteshadowzone. Possibleexplanationsfor
ces,wetakep- (z) andfi - (z) to belinearfunctions
ofz
thehighlevelsin the regionof a predictedshadowzoneare
between
the gridpoints.We furtherassume
p-l(z) and
scatteringfrom turbulence,rough surfacescattering,or
fi-l(z) to be continuousat the grid pointszi. Hence,
large-scalefluctuationsin the sound-speed
profile.The PE
between
z, andz,+ l weapproximate
f,(z) as
model usedhere was limited to deterministic,range-independent,sound-speed
profilesovera smoothgroundsurface.
Hence, the presentmodel did not take into accountany
Zi + I -- Zi

(z)--zjaz.

(A3)

f,,(z)=f,,(zi)+(z_zi)(f,,
(zi+!!
f_,(zi)).
(A4)

mechanisms that could weaken the shadow zone. Future ef-

forts will be directedtoward includingsuchmechanismsin

the model.

We concludethat the parabolicequationmethodcan

accuratelytreat soundpropagationin a realisticoutdoorenvironment.In particular,arbitrarysound-speed
profilesand
a locallyreactinggroundsurfacecanbeused.Because
of the
potentialof the PE algorithmfor handlingcomplicatedeffectssuchas turbulenceand irregular groundtopography,
the methodshouldproveto be a powerfulcomputational
tool for studiesof atmospheric
soundpropagation.
ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The authorswouldlike to thank RichardRaspetfor

helpfuldiscussions
andfor the datareportedin thisarticle.
Oneof us(MJW) gratefullyacknowledges
financialsupport
from the Army ResearchOffice.

Insertingthe linear approximationforfn (z) into Eq. (A2)

gives,for H(n) for n = 1,2,

H,,(n) = [(z,--Zi_l)fn(z i 1)
+ 3(zi+, --zi l)fnzi) + (zi+, -z,)f,(zi+)],
(AS)

H,l (n) = (+)

[f, (zi) +f,,(zi+)] (zi

(Ar)

In orderto computethe third H matrix,H(3), we firstintegrateby partsto obtain

ch,(z)
Hi;(3)
= (f
(z)hi(z)
'--z
! .
-

8hi(z)
dz, (A7)
A(z)8h(z)

wherez andz arethelimitsof integrationdiscussed

earlier.
APPENDIX:
MATRICES

ANALYTIC

EXPRESSIONS

FOR THE H

Sincetheproductof hi andOh(z)/& is zeroat z and%,

we have

In Sec.II of the mainbodyof thetext,thegeneralforms

8hi(z)

Oh(z)

(A8)

of the H matriceswere briefly discussed.In this Appendix,

weconsidertheHmatrices in detailandgiveanalyticexpressions.We beginby definingmathematicallythe basisfunc-

nv(3)=--J-z A(z) & dz.

tions,whichare usedin computingthe H matrices.

As shownin Fig. 1, the basisfunctionshi (z) havethe
appearanceof a peakedhat (hence,the name"hat" func-

Hii+
(3)=(+) ((zi
)-+-f-L(zi
)) (A9)

tion). The mathematical definition is

0,
h(z)
--/ 1_(z-zi)/(zi+
-

Zi_ ZZ,

L0,

H,(3)=

-- [H,+i(3)+H,

,(3)].

(AI0)

Although the computationof H matriceswith linear

finiteelementsis slightlymoreinvolvedthan the morefamiliar differencecomputation,there are two main advantages

ZZi-- I '

(z - z,_, )/(z, - z, , ),

Inserting Eq. (A4) into Eq. (A8), we obtain

thatjustifythe addedcomputational
effort.First, nonuniform grid spacingiseasilyincorporated;hence,smallerspac-

ZZi + I

ingcanbeusedwheremoreaccuracy
isneeded.
Thesecond

(A1)

advantageis that, sincethe acousticfield is definedbetween

The H matricesare constructedfrom the basisfunctions

thefunctions
p-(z) andfi-l(z), andtheoperator
Oz)(1/p)(c/&). For convenience,
we definep-(z) as
f (z) and fi-(z)
H( 1) and H(2)

asf2(z). Then the matrix elementsof

small-scale

can be written

Hij(n)
=f hi(z)f,,,
(z)h(z)
dz,

n = 1,2.

The third H matrix

636

grid points,small-scaleverticalvariationsin soundspeed

anddensitycanbeintegratedoverin the computationof the
H matrices.Thus,with linearfiniteelements,the grid spacing is determinedby the acousticalwavelengthand not by

is

J. Acoust.Sec. Am., Vol. 85, No. 2, February 1989

(A2)

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J. Acoust.
Soc.Am.,Vol.85.No.2, February
1989

K.E.Gilbert
andM.J. White:Application
oftheparabolic
equation

637