• The Journal of the Acoustical Society of Korea
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• v.34 no.6
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• pp.470-478
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• 2015

A heuristic method treating a layered ocean bottom in a ray modeling is to use the plane wave reflection coefficient for multiple-layered structure, named an one-layer assumption in this paper. We examine the validity of one-layer assumption in the case of two-layered ocean bottom, and obtain a simple inequality condition depending on the sound speed ratio, the ratio of layer thickness to source-receiver range, and the grazing angle of first reflected ray. From this inequality condition, it is shown that an one-layer assumption can be applicable to ray propagation problems at mid frequencies. Finally, numerical experiments are performed in the ocean environment similar to the East Sea in Korea. Incoherent transmission loss is calculated by the geometrical beam model with the plane wave reflection coefficient for multiple-layered ocean bottom and compared with the result of SNUPE 2.0, which is a parabolic equation package developed in Seoul National University.