Shallow water acoustics (SWA), the study of how low and medium frequency
sound propagates and scatters on the continental shelves of the worlds
oceans, has both technical interest and a large number of practical
applications. Technically, shallow water poses an interesting medium for
the study of acoustic scattering, inverse theory, and propagation
physics in a complicated oceanic waveguide. Practically, shallow water
acoustics has interest for geophysical exploration, marine mammal
studies, and naval applications. Additionally, one notes the very
interdisciplinary nature of shallow water acoustics, including
acoustical physics, physical oceanography, marine geology, and marine
biology. In this specialized volume the authors, all of whom have
extensive at-sea experience in US and Russian research efforts, have
tried to summarize the main experimental, theoretical, and computational
results in shallow water acoustics, with an emphasis on providing
physical insight into the topics presented.