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Title: Upper Atmosphere Heating From Ocean-Generated Acoustic Wave Energy

Abstract

We present that colliding sea surface waves generate the ocean microbarom, an acoustic signal that may transmit significant energy to the upper atmosphere. Previous estimates of acoustic energy flux from the ocean microbarom and mountain-wind interactions are on the order of 0.01 to 1 mW/m2, heating the thermosphere by tens of Kelvins per day. We captured upgoing ocean microbarom waves with a balloon-borne infrasound microphone; the maximum acoustic energy flux was approximately 0.05 mW/m2. This is about half the average value reported in previous ground-based microbarom observations spanning 8 years. The acoustic flux from the microbarom episode described here may have heated the thermosphere by several Kelvins per day while the source persisted. Lastly, we suggest that ocean wave models could be used to parameterize acoustically generated heating of the upper atmosphere based on sea state.

Authors:
ORCiD logo [1]; ORCiD logo [2]
+ Show Author Affiliations
  1. Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
  2. Univ. of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, NC (United States). Department of Geological Sciences
Publication Date:
Research Org.:
Sandia National Lab. (SNL-NM), Albuquerque, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Org.:
USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
OSTI Identifier:
1441465
Alternate Identifier(s):
OSTI ID: 1438084
Report Number(s):
SAND-2018-4089J
Journal ID: ISSN 0094-8276; 662763
Grant/Contract Number:  
AC04-94AL85000; NA0003525
Resource Type:
Accepted Manuscript
Journal Name:
Geophysical Research Letters
Additional Journal Information:
Journal Volume: 45; Journal Issue: 10; Journal ID: ISSN 0094-8276
Publisher:
American Geophysical Union
Country of Publication:
United States
Language:
English
Subject:
58 GEOSCIENCES; acoustic wave energy; ocean microbarom; thermospheric heating; acoustic dissipation; infrasound ocean-atmosphere coupling

Citation Formats

Bowman, D. C., and Lees, J. M. Upper Atmosphere Heating From Ocean-Generated Acoustic Wave Energy. United States: N. p., 2018. Web. doi:10.1029/2018GL077737.
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Bowman, D. C., & Lees, J. M. Upper Atmosphere Heating From Ocean-Generated Acoustic Wave Energy. United States. doi:10.1029/2018GL077737.
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Bowman, D. C., and Lees, J. M. Fri . "Upper Atmosphere Heating From Ocean-Generated Acoustic Wave Energy". United States. doi:10.1029/2018GL077737. https://www.osti.gov/servlets/purl/1441465.
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@article{osti_1441465,
title = {Upper Atmosphere Heating From Ocean-Generated Acoustic Wave Energy},
author = {Bowman, D. C. and Lees, J. M.},
abstractNote = {We present that colliding sea surface waves generate the ocean microbarom, an acoustic signal that may transmit significant energy to the upper atmosphere. Previous estimates of acoustic energy flux from the ocean microbarom and mountain-wind interactions are on the order of 0.01 to 1 mW/m2, heating the thermosphere by tens of Kelvins per day. We captured upgoing ocean microbarom waves with a balloon-borne infrasound microphone; the maximum acoustic energy flux was approximately 0.05 mW/m2. This is about half the average value reported in previous ground-based microbarom observations spanning 8 years. The acoustic flux from the microbarom episode described here may have heated the thermosphere by several Kelvins per day while the source persisted. Lastly, we suggest that ocean wave models could be used to parameterize acoustically generated heating of the upper atmosphere based on sea state.},
doi = {10.1029/2018GL077737},
journal = {Geophysical Research Letters},
number = 10,
volume = 45,
place = {United States},
year = {2018},
month = {4}
}
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DOI:  10.1029/2018GL077737
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Works referenced in this record:

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    [ × clear filter / sort ]

    Works referencing / citing this record:

    Acoustic waves in the ionospheric F2-region produced by severe thunderstorms
    journal, October 1973

    Heating of the lower thermosphere by the dissipation of acoustic waves
    journal, April 1977

    Net radiative heating and diagnostics of the diabatic circulation in the 15–110 km height layer
    journal, October 1994

    Multiple-taper spectral analysis: A stand-alone C-subroutine
    journal, March 1995

    Acoustic energy transfer to the upper atmosphere from surface chemical and underground nuclear explosions
    journal, February 2006

    • Drobzheva, Ya. V.; Krasnov, V. M.
    • Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Vol. 68, Issue 3-5
    • DOI: 10.1016/j.jastp.2005.03.023

    Acoustic energy transfer to the upper atmosphere from sinusoidal sources and a role of nonlinear processes
    journal, August 2007

    • Krasnov, V.; Drobzheva, Ya.; Lastovicka, J.
    • Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Vol. 69, Issue 12
    • DOI: 10.1016/j.jastp.2007.04.011

    Orographic disturbances in the upper atmosphere
    journal, December 2012

    • Semenov, Anatoly I.; Shefov, Nikolay N.; Medvedeva, Irina V.
    • Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Vol. 90-91
    • DOI: 10.1016/j.jastp.2012.05.009

    Airglow observations of orographic, volcanic and meteorological infrasound signatures
    journal, November 2013

    • Pilger, Christoph; Schmidt, Carsten; Streicher, Florian
    • Journal of Atmospheric and Solar-Terrestrial Physics, Vol. 104
    • DOI: 10.1016/j.jastp.2013.08.008

    Modelling waveforms of infrasound arrivals from impulsive sources using weakly non-linear ray theory
    journal, January 2015

    • Lonzaga, Joel B.; Waxler, Roger M.; Assink, Jelle D.
    • Geophysical Journal International, Vol. 200, Issue 3
    • DOI: 10.1093/gji/ggu479

    The origin of deep ocean microseisms in the North Atlantic Ocean
    journal, December 2007

    • Kedar, Sharon; Longuet-Higgins, Michael; Webb, Frank
    • Proceedings of the Royal Society A: Mathematical, Physical and Engineering Sciences, Vol. 464, Issue 2091
    • DOI: 10.1098/rspa.2007.0277

    The radiation of atmospheric microbaroms by ocean waves
    journal, May 2006

    • Waxler, Roger; Gilbert, Kenneth E.
    • The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 119, Issue 5
    • DOI: 10.1121/1.2191607

    Propagation of sonic booms in the thermosphere
    journal, January 1980

    • Rogers, Peter H.; Gardner, J. H.
    • The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 67, Issue 1
    • DOI: 10.1121/1.383793
      [ × clear filter / sort ]

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