Absolute measurements of total target strength from reverberation in a cavity.

A new method was developed to acoustically measure the density and total scattering cross-section (sigma(t)) or total target strength [TTS = 10log10(sigma(t)/4pi)] of objects in motion in a highly reflective cavity [J. De Rosny and P. Roux, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 109, 2587-2597 (2001)]. From an ensemble of pulse-echo recordings, the average contribution of the scatterer(s) to the reverberation within the cavity provides a measurement of the scattering mean free path. The latter was shown through theory and experiment to be proportional to the volume of the cavity and inversely proportional the product of the mean sigma(t) and number of scatterers. Here, the TTS measurement uncertainty is characterized using standard metal spheres as references. Theoretical TTS was calculated for multiple copper and tungsten carbide standard spheres (Cu: 60.0 30.05 and 23 mm and WC: 38.1 and 33.4 mm diameters, respectively), using well-described theory for scattering from elastic spheres and the optical theorem. Measurements of TTS were made over a wide bandwidth (30-120 kHz) and compared to their theoretical values. Measurements were made in a corrugated, cylindrical, galvanized-steel tank with 25 or 50 l of fresh water at a temperature of 21 +/- 1 degrees C. The results indicate the method can provide TTS measurements that are accurate to at least 0.4 dB with an average precision of +/-0.7 dB (95% confidence interval). Discussed are the requisite cavity volumes and signal-to-noise ratios for quality measurements of TTS, tank volume, and/or numerical abundance of mobile targets. Also discussed are multiple potential applications of this technique in bioacoustical oceanography.