Title: Infrasound From a Buried Chemical Explosion Recorded on a Balloon in the Lower Stratosphere

Abstract

Abstract Infrasound waveforms generated by natural and anthropogenic phenomena contain important clues about the size and nature of the event. We show that sensors on balloons in the lower stratosphere can record faithful representations of the near‐source acoustic wave field at unprecedented range. The acoustic signature of a buried chemical explosion recorded at a range of 56 km and an altitude of 21.8 km was nearly identical to that recorded on the ground 0.5 km from the epicenter, but absent on a ground sensor located 46 km away. Our results demonstrate that balloon‐borne infrasound techniques greatly increase the range at which well‐preserved acoustic representations of near‐source physics can be acquired, and that their propagation is simple to model. Our work has implications for monitoring remote regions of the earth for explosions, volcanic eruptions, and other phenomena. It also supports the prospect of balloon‐based infrasound seismology on Venus.

Authors:

Bowman, Daniel C.  ^[1];

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• Search DOE PAGES for ORCID "0000-0002-9341-520X"

Krishnamoorthy, Siddharth ^[2]

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+ Show Author Affiliations

1. Sandia National Laboratories Albuquerque NM USA
2. Jet Propulsion Laboratory California Institute of Technology Pasadena CA USA

Publication Date:

Mon Nov 08 00:00:00 EST 2021

Sponsoring Org.:

USDOE

OSTI Identifier:

1829336

Resource Type:

Publisher's Accepted Manuscript

Journal Name:

Geophysical Research Letters

Additional Journal Information:

Journal Name: Geophysical Research Letters Journal Volume: 48 Journal Issue: 21; Journal ID: ISSN 0094-8276

Publisher:

American Geophysical Union (AGU)

Country of Publication:

United States

Language:

English