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This is the Engineering Telemetry Description, for the Integrated Advanced Microwave Sounding Unit-A (AMSU-A).
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Parts were fabricated for the acoustic ground impedance meter and the instrument was tested. A rubber hose was used to connect the resonator neck to the chamber in order to suppress vibration from the volume velocity source which caused chatter. An analog to digital converter was successfully hardwired to the computer detection system. The cooling system for the resonant tube was modified to use liquid nitrogen cooling. This produced the required temperature for the tube, but the temperature gradients within each of the four tube sections reached unacceptable levels. Final measurements of the deexcitation of nitrogen by water vapor indicate that the responsible physical process is not the direct vibration-translation energy transfer, but is a vibration-vibration energy transfer.
The theoretical capability of identifying the source of turbulent jet noise is assessed in comparison with experimental data. Account is taken of axisymmetric and spiral turbulence modes in Lighthill's (1952) formulation of turbulent noise. Coherent structures interacting with the mean flow and the fine-grained turbulence are the primary noise sources, modeled as an oscillating streamwise distribution. Low-frequencies arise farther downstream while high-frequencies congregate close to the nozzle lip. Previous measurements at various exit velocities, angles with respect to the nozzle axis, the Strouhal number and downstream distance are discussed. The model successfully predicted the angular distribution of noise frequency due to coherent structures. Further work is indicated on compressibility effects.
In this paper, the sounder instrument and its design constraints and parameters are described.
This dataset provides a comprehensive set of wind turbine sound setbacks from every residential structure in the contiguous United States (CONUS). A sound setback is defined as the minimum required distance between a residential structure and a hypothetical turbine installation site to ensure that modeled sound levels received at the residence do not exceed local sound ordinances, which are commonly expressed in A-weighted decibels (dBA). Therefore, sound setbacks are a local spatial assessment combining multiple factors, including the sound pressure curve as a function of the observer location (distance and direction) relative to the turbine, local sound regulations, and the geographical distribution of residential structures. The dataset is organized into multiple scenario-based products, detailed as follows: 1. Existing and extrapolated sound setbacks. An existing scenario characterizes sound setbacks only in states or counties that have implemented sound regulations as of 2022. The extrapolated scenarios extend a constant sound threshold to counties that lack explicit sound regulations, with thresholds ranging from 35 to 60 dBA, in 5-dBA increments reflecting the variation observed in current sound ordinances. 2. Sound setbacks in directional and worst scenarios. The directional scenario accounts for the distance and orientation of residential structures relative to a hypothetical turbine location, utilizing the turbine's sound emissions in that specific direction. In contrast, the worst scenario takes loudest sound level at each distance step from the turbine, irrespective of directional considerations, which aligns with current industry practice. 3. Supply curves for Open and Reference Access scenarios. This dataset includes supply curves generated by the reV model, which integrates each of the above sound setbacks into both Open and Reference siting scenarios. In addition, two Open and Reference baselines scenarios were included which do not consider sound setbacks for comparative analysis. All sound setback data are stored in TIF files, with partial maps of the data provided in PNG format. The values in the sound setback raster range from 0 to 1, representing the fraction of developable land within a 90 meter by 90 meter pixel due to sound ordinances. A value of 0 indicates areas where wind energy development is prohibited, while a value of 1 signifies areas fully permissible. The wind turbine parameters used in the sound modeling are based on the land-based turbine from International Energy Agency (IEA), featuring a rated electrical power of 3.4 MW, a rotor diameter of 130 meters, and a hub height of 110 meters. The atmospheric conditions, including wind speed/direction, turbulence, air temperature, relative humidity, and air pressure, that drive the sound generation are obtained from the WIND Toolkit dataset.
In a previous task, the Applied Meteorology Unit (AMU) developed spatial and temporal climatologies of lightning occurrence based on eight atmospheric flow regimes. The AMU created climatological, or composite, soundings of wind speed and direction, temperature, and dew point temperature at four rawinsonde observation stations at Jacksonville, Tampa, Miami, and Cape Canaveral Air Force Station, for each of the eight flow regimes. The composite soundings were delivered to the National Weather Service (NWS) Melbourne (MLB) office for display using the National version of the Skew-T Hodograph analysis and Research Program (NSHARP) software program. The NWS MLB requested the AMU make the composite soundings available for display in the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System (AWIPS), so they could be overlaid on current observed soundings. This will allow the forecasters to compare the current state of the atmosphere with climatology. This presentation describes how the AMU converted the composite soundings from NSHARP Archive format to Network Common Data Form (NetCDF) format, so that the soundings could be displayed in AWl PS. The NetCDF is a set of data formats, programming interfaces, and software libraries used to read and write scientific data files. In AWIPS, each meteorological data type, such as soundings or surface observations, has a unique NetCDF format. Each format is described by a NetCDF template file. Although NetCDF files are in binary format, they can be converted to a text format called network Common data form Description Language (CDL). A software utility called ncgen is used to create a NetCDF file from a CDL file, while the ncdump utility is used to create a CDL file from a NetCDF file. An AWIPS receives soundings in Binary Universal Form for the Representation of Meteorological data (BUFR) format (http://dss.ucar.edu/docs/formats/bufr/), and then decodes them into NetCDF format. Only two sounding files are generated in AWIPS per day. One file contains all of the soundings received worldwide between 0000 UTC and 1200 UTC, and the other includes all soundings between 1200 UTC and 0000 UTC. In order to add the composite soundings into AWIPS, a procedure was created to configure, or localize, AWIPS. This involved modifying and creating several configuration text files. A unique fourcharacter site identifier was created for each of the 32 soundings so each could be viewed separately. The first three characters were based on the site identifier of the observed sounding, while the last character was based on the flow regime. While researching the localization process for soundings, the AMU discovered a method of archiving soundings so old soundings would not get purged automatically by AWl PS. This method could provide an alternative way of localizing AWl PS for composite soundings. In addition, this would allow forecasters to use archived soundings in AWIPS for case studies. A test sounding file in NetCDF format was written in order to verify the correct format for soundings in AWIPS. After the file was viewed successfully in AWIPS, the AMU wrote a software program in the Tool Command Language/Tool Kit (Tcl/Tk) language to convert the 32 composite soundings from NSHARP Archive to CDL format. The ncgen utility was then used to convert the CDL file to a NetCDF file. The NetCDF file could then be read and displayed in AWIPS.
Sound waves have the ability to propagate through a gas phase and, thus, to supply the acoustic energy from a sound generator to materials being processed. This offers an attractive tool, for example, for controlling the rates of interfacial reactions in steelmaking processes. This study investigates the kinetics of decarburization in molten Fe-C alloys, the surface of which was exposed to sound waves and Ar-O{sub 2} gas blown onto the melt surface. The main emphasis is placed on clarifying effects of sound frequency, sound pressure, and gas flow rate. A series of water model experiments and numerical simulations are also performed to explain the results of high-temperature experiments and to elucidate the mechanism of sound wave application. This is explained by two phenomena that occur simultaneously: (1) turbulization of Ar-O{sub 2} gas flow by sound wave above the melt surface and (2) motion and agitation of the melt surface when exposed to sound wave. It is found that sound waves can both accelerate and inhibit the decarburization rate depending on the Ar-O{sub 2} gas flow rate and the presence of oxide film on the melt surface. The effect of sound waves is clearly observed only at higher sound pressures on resonance frequencies, which are defined by geometrical features of the experimental setup. The resonance phenomenon makes it difficult to separate the effect of sound frequency from that of sound pressure under the present experimental conditions.
At low temperatures, elementary excitations of a one-dimensional quantum liquid form a gas that can move as a whole with respect to the center of mass of the system. This internal motion attenuates at exponentially long time scales. As a result, in a broad range of frequencies, the liquid is described by two-fluid hydrodynamics, and the system supports two sound modes. The physical nature of the two sounds depends on whether the particles forming the quantum liquid have a spin degree of freedom. For particles with spin, the modes are analogous to the first and second sound modes in superfluid 4 He, which are the waves of density and entropy, respectively. When dissipative processes are taken into account, we find that at low frequencies, the second sound is transformed into heat diffusion, while the first sound mode remains weakly damped and becomes the ordinary sound. In a spinless liquid, the entropy and density oscillations are strongly coupled and the resulting sound modes are hybrids of the first and second sound. As the frequency is lowered and dissipation processes become important, the crossover to a single-fluid regime occurs in two steps. First the hybrid modes transform into predominantly density and entropy waves, similar to the first and second sound, and then the density wave transforms to the ordinary sound and the entropy wave becomes a heat-diffusion mode. Lastly, we account for the dissipation due to viscosity and intrinsic thermal conductivity of the gas of excitations, which controls attenuation of the sound modes at high frequencies.
The development of hydrokinetic energy technologies (e.g., tidal turbines) has raised concern over the potential impacts of underwater sound produced by hydrokinetic turbines on fish species likely to encounter these turbines. To assess the potential for behavioral impacts, we exposed four species of fish to varying intensities of recorded hydrokinetic turbine sound in a semi-natural environment. Although we tested freshwater species (redhorse suckers [Moxostoma spp], freshwater drum [Aplondinotus grunniens], largemouth bass [Micropterus salmoides], and rainbow trout [Oncorhynchus mykiss]), these species are also representative of the hearing physiology and sensitivity of estuarine species that would be affected at tidal energy sites. Here, we evaluated changes in fish position relative to different intensities of turbine sound as well as trends in location over time with linear mixed-effects and generalized additive mixed models. We also evaluated changes in the proportion of near-source detections relative to sound intensity and exposure time with generalized linear mixed models and generalized additive models. Models indicated that redhorse suckers may respond to sustained turbine sound by increasing distance from the sound source. Freshwater drum models suggested a mixed response to turbine sound, and largemouth bass and rainbow trout models did not indicate any likely responses to turbine sound. Lastly, findings highlight the importance for future research to utilize accurate localization systems, different species, validated sound transmission distances, and to consider different types of behavioral responses to different turbine designs and to the cumulative sound of arrays of multiple turbines.
Purpose: High breast density, as measured by mammography, is associated with increased breast cancer risk, but standard methods of assessment have limitations including 2D representation of breast tissue, distortion due to breast compression, and use of ionizing radiation. Ultrasound tomography (UST) is a novel imaging method that averts these limitations and uses sound speed measures rather than x-ray imaging to estimate breast density. The authors evaluated the reproducibility of measures of speed of sound and changes in this parameter using UST. Methods: One experienced and five newly trained raters measured sound speed in serial UST scans for 22 women (two scans per person) to assess inter-rater reliability. Intrarater reliability was assessed for four raters. A random effects model was used to calculate the percent variation in sound speed and change in sound speed attributable to subject, scan, rater, and repeat reads. The authors estimated the intraclass correlation coefficients (ICCs) for these measures based on data from the authors’ experienced rater. Results: Median (range) time between baseline and follow-up UST scans was five (1–13) months. Contributions of factors to sound speed variance were differences between subjects (86.0%), baseline versus follow-up scans (7.5%), inter-rater evaluations (1.1%), and intrarater reproducibility (∼0%). When evaluating change in sound speed between scans, 2.7% and ∼0% of variation were attributed to inter- and intrarater variation, respectively. For the experienced rater’s repeat reads, agreement for sound speed was excellent (ICC = 93.4%) and for change in sound speed substantial (ICC = 70.4%), indicating very good reproducibility of these measures. Conclusions: UST provided highly reproducible sound speed measurements, which reflect breast density, suggesting that UST has utility in sensitively assessing change in density.
AIRS contains 2376 high spectral resolution channels between 650/cm and 2665/cm, including channels in both the 15 micron (near 667/cm) and 4.2 micron (near 2400/cm) COP sounding bands. Use of temperature sounding channels in the 15 micron CO2 band has considerable heritage in infra-red remote sensing. Channels in the 4.2 micron CO2 band have potential advantages for temperature sounding purposes because they are essentially insensitive to absorption by water vapor and ozone, and also have considerably sharper lower tropospheric temperature sounding weighting functions than do the 15 micron temperature sounding channels. Potential drawbacks with regard to use of 4.2 micron channels arise from effects on the observed radiances of solar radiation reflected by the surface and clouds, as well as effects of non-local thermodynamic equilibrium on shortwave observations during the day. These are of no practical consequences, however, when properly accounted for. We show results of experiments performed utilizing different spectral regions of AIRS, conducted with the AIRS Science Team candidate Version 5 algorithm. Experiments were performed using temperature sounding channels within the entire AIRS spectral coverage, within only the spectral region 650/cm to 1614 /cm; and within only the spectral region 1000/cm-2665/cm. These show the relative importance of utilizing only 15 micron temperature sounding channels, only the 4.2 micron temperature sounding channels, and both, with regards to sounding accuracy. The spectral region 2380/cm to 2400/cm is shown to contribute significantly to improve sounding accuracy in the lower troposphere, both day and night.
Temporal and Spatial Variations in Sound Produced by a Wave Energy Converter: Sound produced by wave energy converters may affect marine mammal behavior and information is limited, so this study was done to ensure sound levels do not exceed agreed thresholds. Acoustic measurements of the WEC included the type of sound produced, the variation of sound vary in space, and in time. With the NWEI Azura, the primary mechanism for sound production was the hydraulic generator, with secondary production from wave interaction, and primarily produced sound at frequencies less than 3 kHz. From further research efforts at the Navy's Wave Energy Test Site (WETS) in Hawaii, acoustic measurements indicated that the sound from individualWEC devices is of limited environmental consequence, with the intensity and frequencies of sound well below those produced by recreational watercraft and ocean-going container vessels at a range of several hundred meters. As expected for this scale of WEC, no operating states have been identified under which the acoustic emissions exceed regulatory thresholds.
The propagation of sound through a spatially homogeneous but non-stationary medium is investigated within the framework of fluid dynamics. For a non-vortical fluid, especially, a generalized wave equation is derived for the (scalar) potential of the fluid velocity distribution in dependence of the equilibrium mass density of the fluid and the sound wave velocity. A solution of this equation for a finite transition period τ is determined in terms of the hypergeometric function for a phenomenologically realistic, sigmoidal change of the mass density and sound wave velocity. Using this solution, it is shown that the energy flux of the sound wave is not conserved but increases always for the propagation through a non-stationary medium, independent of whether the equilibrium mass density is increased or decreased. It is found, moreover, that this amplification of the transmitted wave arises from an energy exchange with the medium and that its flux is equal to the (total) flux of the incident and the reflected wave. An interpretation of the reflected wave as a propagation of sound backward in time is given in close analogy to Feynman and Stueckelberg for the propagation of anti-particles. The reflection and transmission coefficients of sound propagating through a non-stationary medium is analyzed in more detail for hypersonic waves with transition periods τ between 15 and 200 ps as well as the transformation of infrasound waves in non-stationary oceans. -- Highlights: •Analytically exact study of sound propagation through a non-stationary medium. •Energy exchange between the non-stationary medium and the sound wave. •Transformation of hypersonic and ultrasound frequencies in non-stationary media. •Propagation of sound backward in time in close analogy to anti-particles. •Prediction of tsunamis both in spatially and temporally inhomogeneous oceans.
Measurements of sound propagation over distances up to 1000 m were carried out with an impulse sound source offering reproducible, short time signals. Temperature and wind speed at several heights were monitored simultaneously; the meteorological data are used to determine the sound speed gradients according to the Monin-Obukhov similarity theory. The sound speed profile is compared to a corresponding prediction, gained through the measured travel time difference between direct and ground reflected pulse (which depends on the sound speed gradient). Positive sound speed gradients cause bending of the sound rays towards the ground yielding enhanced sound pressure levels. The measured meteorological effects on sound propagation are discussed and illustrated by ray tracing methods.