Theoretical and numerical study on transient acoustic wave propagation across ice layers in the Arctic Ocean.

This article focuses on the theoretical analysis of transient acoustic wave propagation across the Arctic Ocean ice layer modeled as an ice–water composite structure. Using the eigenfunction expansion method (EEM), the authors derived an analytical transient solution and developed numerical procedures to study the radial and axial displacement characteristics of acoustic waves propagating through the ice and water layers. The results indicate that radial displacements experience more severe waveform distortion and frequency-selective fading than axial displacements, with both displacement amplitudes decreasing rapidly over distance and being significantly affected by ice thickness. The study suggests that axial displacement signals generated in water may be more effective for trans-ice acoustic communication, while radial displacement information could be useful for applications like ice thickness inversion. Compared to other methods such as finite element modeling, EEM offers higher computational efficiency and mode-specific analysis, making it suitable for large-scale Arctic acoustic propagation studies.