Head wave movie

• A charge is detonated in the upper left hand corner generating a pair of expanding rings. The red and blue rings show regions of high and low pressure respectively.

• The expanding rings hit the ocean bottom. At the point of contact, the energy is split between a reflected wave in the ocean and a transmitted wave in the ocean bottom. The reflected wave is distorted since the phase of the reflection coefficient varies between 0 and 90 degrees depending on the angle of incidence. The transmitted wave preserves its shape but stretches because the sound speed in the bottom is faster.

• The wave in the ocean bottom travels faster and pulls ahead of the water wave. Energy is continuously shed from the ocean bottom and forms a diagonal band (the head wave=lateral wave=conical wave) connecting the transmitted and reflected waves.

Start (requires an mpeg movie player)