We consider the feasibility of using small-scale acoustic tomography to reconstruct oceanic microstructure. In contrast to alternate measurement techniques, acoustic tomography can produce quantitative, fully three-dimensional images. Tomography uses acoustic data measured by probing the medium from several different directions. To test the proposed approach, numerical realizations typical of anisotropic microstructure are first simulated and then reconstructed by tomography. Two specific forms are evaluated: conventional computed tomography that uses only travel time delay data, and diffraction tomography that requires coherent field measurements. Conventional tomography is shown to produce high-quality cross-sectional images. The effects of reducing the number of views are studied, and error maps are generated. Issues in experimental implementation are considered. This study can serve as a guide to the design of an experimental device. ¿1991 American Geophysical Union