Book Review

Underwater Acoustic Modeling and Simulation , 3rd edition

Paul C. Etter
Spon Press, New York, 2003
424 pp., $174.95 hb
ISBN 0-419-26220-2

Reviewed by Muhammed Hassanali

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In this third edition of his popular text Underwater Acoustic Modeling (first published in 1991 by Elsevier), Paul C. Etter has added “simulation” to the topics covered, as well as to the title. He starts with an overview of the development of underwater acoustics, then follows with an examination of the variables in the underwater environment that affect oceanographic acoustics, establishing the framework for the remainder of the book. Chapters 3 through 9 are the crown jewels—they provide an overview of the various classes of models (along with their major assumptions, shortcomings, and conditions of applicability) for propagation, noise, and reverberation. Etter finishes by applying the theories discussed in the previous chapters to sonar applications in the ocean.

The chapters are logically organized and well structured, as is the entire book. Each chapter starts with a section titled “ Background ,” which provides a brief summary. Subsequent sections and subsections closely follow the outline provided in the “ Background” and elaborate on the relevant topics.

Etter does not discuss specific models, except for illustration purposes, but rather focuses on classes of models. However, the text's extensive references lead one to appropriate sources of specific models. The book describes both physical and empirical models and, where appropriate, introduces numerical approaches, including finite-element analysis. The focus when introducing a model is on that model's assumptions and domains of applicability.

Several well-done appendices include abbreviations and acronyms, a glossary, a list of Web sites for acoustic databases, and an extraordinary collection of references. Etter warns the reader that given the volatile nature of the Internet, Web addresses may quickly become outdated. This is indeed the case—of the eight Web addresses provided in the appendix, three have become “dead” and one has become a restricted site. One hopes this problem will be corrected in future editions—perhaps Etter could set up links to the relevant Web sites on his home page and thus add or remove links as Web content evolves.

Curiously, the chapters have very few footnotes, and many references are embedded in the text. I think that the wealth of references provided would be more useful if they were included as footnotes where relevant, or if each chapter had a reference section at the end. Categorizing the references by chapter or section would make the references easier for the reader to use.

Overall, Underwater Acoustic Modeling and Simulation does an excellent job of introducing propagation, noise, and reverberation in the underwater environment. The author's style makes the book very readable, without compromising the breadth of coverage. This is a suitable text for a graduate course in oceanography, applied physics, or applied mathematics. Professors will need to supply their own problems, as the chapters do not contain any. Practitioners in the field will find it a useful introductory text but will need to supplement it with additional material to provide complete coverage of their area of interest.

Biography

Muhammed Hassanali is a project engineer for Morgan Electro Ceramics (MEC) in Bedford, Ohio. MEC manufactures high-performance piezoelectric ceramics, which are used in underwater sonar equipment.