• Deep ocean vector sensor array performance metrics

Recent work in passive sonar has drawn interest in the potential for vertical line arrays (VLAs) deployed below the critical depth—the depth inthe deep ocean at which the sound speed below the channel axis reaches the sound speed near the surface. Such arrays can take advantage of propagation via the reliable acoustic path (RAP), which has been shown to improve thesignal-to-noise ratio (SNR) of received signals from sources at or near the surface at moderate ranges. The potential of these deep ocean VLAs hasspawned further interest in the design of vector sensor VLAs that would allow azimuthal rejection and additional array gain over conventional pressure sensor VLAs. This work will present simulation results that explore and quantify the performance of such vector sensor VLAs deployed in thedeep ocean in terms of surface area coverage, detection probability, andoperational lifetime. The potential use of these deep ocean vector sensorarrays to estimate source depth using the depth-harmonic interferencebetween direct and surface-reflected acoustic arrivals will also be discussed.