What question did this study set out to answer?

To determine whether infrasound backscattering from controlled ground explosions can measure fine-scale wind and temperature fluctuations driven by breaking gravity waves in the middle atmosphere.

June 28, 2023Journal of Geophysical Research AtmospheresOpen Access

Probing Gravity Waves in the Middle Atmosphere Using Infrasound From Explosions

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Authors

EVEkaterina VorobevaKjeller Innovasjon (Norway)JAJelle AssinkRoyal Netherlands Meteorological Institute PEP. J. EspyNorwegian University of Science and Technology

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Implication

Observational analysis demonstrates mesospheric gravity wave detection via explosion-generated infrasound, indicating infrasound reliably probes fine-scale atmospheric dynamics.

Key Points

To determine whether infrasound backscattering from controlled ground explosions can measure fine-scale wind and temperature fluctuations driven by breaking gravity waves in the middle atmosphere.
Analyzed infrasound recordings from controlled blasts at Hukkakero, Finland, captured at the IS37 station in Norway during late summers 2014–2017.
Retrieved effective sound-speed fluctuations to compute vertical wavenumber spectra across vertical scales of 33–625 m at altitudes of 50–75 km.
Validated the spectral amplitudes and slopes against theoretical gravity wave saturation models and independent wind data from the Saura medium-frequency radar.
Identified acoustic backscattering originating at mesospheric altitudes of 50–75 km, corresponding to strong wind-shear layers produced by nonlinear gravity wave interactions.
Demonstrated that retrieved fluctuation spectra follow an approximate power law matching the universal saturated spectrum of atmospheric gravity waves for scales of 33–625 m.
Observed close alignment between radar and infrasound measurements, confirming that both methods capture complementary wavenumber regimes of the same wave spectrum.

Cite This Study

Vorobeva et al. (2023) studied this question.

synapsesocial.com/papers/69d6c34e41375cf86eed8a0b https://doi.org/10.1029/2023jd038725

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Implication

Observational analysis demonstrates mesospheric gravity wave detection via explosion-generated infrasound, indicating infrasound reliably probes fine-scale atmospheric dynamics.

Probing Gravity Waves in the Middle Atmosphere Using Infrasound From Explosions

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Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

Probing Gravity Waves in the Middle Atmosphere Using Infrasound From Explosions

Discussion

Member takes

Implication

Key Points

Cite This Study

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