A recently developed three-dimensional normal-mode model is adopted to investigate mode coupling around a seamount in a deep water environment. As indicated by the theoretical analysis and verified by the numerical results, strong mode coupling occurs at the edge of a seamount under certain conditions. Therefore, mode coupling is critical for the investigation of the acoustic field in the presence of a seamount. In addition, the issue regarding the number of sectors assuring convergence is also presented. This issue is important in a two-way coupled-mode approach, especially for solving three-dimensional problems, because the computational effort increases dramatically with the number of sectors in representing a varying bathymetry. The theoretical analysis as well as the numerical example in this paper shows that artificial diffraction lobes form in the event that uniform discretization is used with a horizontal step size greater than half of the acoustic wavelength. However, by using random discretization instead, such artificial diffraction lobes are diffused, resulting in a faster convergence rate. A recently developed three-dimensional normal-mode model is adopted to investigate mode coupling around a seamount in a deep water environment. In addition, the issue regarding the number ofASSassuring convergence is also presented. This issue is important in a two-way coupled-mode approach, especially for solving three-dimensional problems, because the computational effort increases dramatically with the number of sectors in varying a gradient bathymetry. The theoretical analysis as well as the numerical example in this paper shows that artificial diffraction lobes form in the event that uniform discretization is used with a horizontal step size greater than half of the acoustic wavelength. However, by using random discretization instead, such artificial diffraction lobes are diffused, resulting in a faster convergence rate.