Tabu is a global optimization technique that has been very successful in operations research. In this paper, a Tabu-based method is developed for source localization and geoacoustic inversion with underwater sound data; the method relies on memory to guide the multiparameter search. Tabu is evaluated through a comparison to simulating annealing. Both methods are tested by inverting synthetic data for various numbers of unknown parameters. Tabu is found to be superior to the simulated annealing variant implemented here in terms both of accuracy and efficiency. Inversion results from the SWellEX-96 data set are also presented.

Matched-field processing approaches are powerful tools for source localization and environmental parameter estimation in the ocean.Requiring multiple replica field calculations, however, matched-field processing can have significant computational demands. This work investigates the potential for using matched-field techniques that match only select "features" of the acoustic fields, attempting to reduce the computational requirements for successful inversion. The features this paper focuses on are arrival times of select paths. A "matching" technique for inversion using only arrival times is discussed and results are shown. A new process for the efficient selection of arrival times is also proposed.

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Matched field processing is a powerful tool for source localization and geoacoustic inversion. Because of significant environmental and geometry uncertainties, however, matched field processing usually involves multiparameter searches. To facilitate these searches, global optimization techniques such as genetic algorithms and simulated annealing have been successfully employed. In this work, a different approach, tabu, is implemented for optimization in matched field inversion. Tabu is a technique relying on the use of memory; it searches for the global maximum of the objective function through a navigation process that avoids already revisited models, also making use of aspiration criteria and diversification for faster convergence. The tabu performance in localization and geoacoustic inversion is demonstrated through experimentation with both synthetic and real (SWellEX 96) data. The approach is shown to provide reliable estimates in an efficient manner. [Work supported by ONR.]