By using both continuous and pulsed insonification of a fixed volume at 160 kHz, measurements of scattering strength, scatterer target strengths, and reverberation spectra were made at a single location near San Diego at depths up to 90 m. Scattering strength and density of scatterers decrease slightly with depth while the short‐term fluctuation increases somewhat. Dimensions of the scatterers are estimated to be of the order of millimeters. The scatterers apparently do not migrate vertically over a 24‐hour period and reverberation spectra indicate that they are nonmoving or very slowly moving obstacles carried along with the current. Application of the apparatus in the detection and measurement of turbulence at considerable ranges is considered, and analyses indicate that turbulent speeds of the order of centimeters per second might be observed at ranges of approximately 100 m with a transmitted power of a few hundred watts.Subject Classification: [43]30.40; [43]80.20; [43]28.60.