Lyons, Anthony Patrick2010-02-152010-02-151995http://hdl.handle.net/1969.3/25767120 pgs.This dissertation addresses backscattering from a seafloor volume. Both physical mechanisms and their importance are discussed. This task was accomplished in three stages: (1) examining and adapting theoretical and numerical techniques for predicting volume backscatter from seafloor environments in the frequency range from 5-50 kHz, (2) characterizing the physical properties of the seafloor volume that control acoustic backscatter in selected environmental regimes by using the high resolution techniques of CT scanning and p-wave logging and casting these descriptions in a form useful for scattering models, and (3) comparing model results constrained by ground truth information with acoustic data sets obtained in different seafloor environments in order to isolate physical scattering mechanisms which dominate scattering and to examine the effectiveness of the characterization and modeling components of this research.acousticssedimentsoceanographyocean floormodelingsound wavesscatteringunderwater acousticsDissertation