What can significantly affect acoustic transmission underwater?

Temperature inversions can significantly affect acoustic transmission underwater due to their impact on sound speed and the propagation of sound waves. In underwater environments, sound travels differently depending on temperature, salinity, and pressure. A temperature inversion occurs when a layer of warmer water overlays cooler water, creating a gradient that can refract sound waves.

As sound waves encounter this change, they may be bent upwards or downwards, which can either enhance or diminish their transmission over distances. This refraction can lead to situations where sound waves travel further than expected or become trapped in certain layers of water, drastically altering communication, navigation, and location tracking. Understanding the role of temperature inversions in sound propagation is crucial for effective underwater communication and navigation using sound, especially in dynamic positioning systems where accurate positioning is paramount.

The other factors, while they do affect underwater acoustic transmission, do not have the same profound and widespread impact as temperature inversions. For example, surface waves create noise that can interfere with acoustic signals, but they do not fundamentally change how sound is transmitted through different layers of water. Underwater terrain can affect the path of sound, but it is not as influential as the temperature-related changes in sound speed. Similarly, sound frequency does play a role in how sound