Error bounds in matched-field inversion for geoacoustic properties

The effect of uncertainty in the parameters that define the experimental ge ometry is investigated to determine the performance of matched-field invers ion for geoacoustic properties. The investigation is carried out using simu lated data for a vertical line array in a North Pacific environment. The re sults indicate that there can be significant degradation of inversion perfo rmance for small errors (similar to 1/3 wavelength) in source depth, depth and tilt of the array, ocean depth and source/array range. The relatively h igh sensitivity to mismatch in experimental geometry suggests that uncertai nties of this type can be tolerated in the inversion by including the geome trical parameters in the global search algorithm. The simulations show that performance is improved by inverting for both the ocean bottom properties and the geometrical parameters simultaneously.