ABSTRACT 



Descrlptloa, Analysis and Prediction of Sea-Floor Roughness 

 Using Spectral Models 



CHRISTOPHER GENE POX 



A method has been developed which allows a valid statistical model 

 of the variability of oceanic depths to be derived from digital bathy- 

 metrlc soundings. Existing bathymetrlc contour charts represent low- 

 frequency, deterministic models of the sea floor. To describe the 

 higher frequency variability, or roughness, of the sea floor requires 

 the development of a valid stochastic model. The statistical model of 

 sea-floor roughness is also a valuable tool for predicting acoustic 

 scattering and in addition contains a wealth of geological information 

 for interpreting deep-sea processes. 



To allow the variability of depths to be described as a function of 

 scale (spatial frequency), the amplitude spectrum is employed as the 

 fundamental statistic underlying the model. Since the validity of the 

 amplitude spectrum depends upon the assumption of a statistically sta- 

 tionary sample space, a computer algorithm operating in the spatial 

 domain was developed which delineates geographic provinces of limited 

 statistical heterogeneity. Within these provinces, the spectral model 



