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Title: Regional infrasonic observations from surface explosions – influence of atmospheric variations and realistic terrain

Journal Article · · Geophysical Journal International
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SUMMARY A pair of 1-ton, conventional surface explosions were conducted at the Nevada National Security Site in the fall of 2020 producing seismoacoustic signatures observable hundreds of kilometres from the source location. Regional infrasonic observations include tropospheric ducting at large distances to the south, a wide stratospheric waveguide with signals observed more than 700 km to the east, and anomalous arrivals in the stratospheric shadow zone. Notable differences in propagation between the events are identified despite the explosions being conducted just two days apart due to a sharp temporal shift in the tropospheric winds as well as structural changes in the stratospheric winds. Propagation simulations of the two events have been completed using a combination of ray tracing and parabolic equation (PE) methods. Simulations have been conducted to quantify the impact of the temporal variations in the atmosphere as well as the influence of terrain on propagation. Temporal variations in reflection locations are found to produce notable changes in downrange propagation due to spatially varying terrain features. Finite frequency effects modelled by the PE are found to predict ensonification not included in corresponding 2D ray tracing simulations. Notable variations in predicted signal amplitude are found due to focusing by along-path and cross-path terrain gradients; though, the later of these is only modelled using fully 3D ray tracing analysis.

Research Organization:
Los Alamos National Laboratory (LANL), Los Alamos, NM (United States)
Sponsoring Organization:
Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA); USDOE National Nuclear Security Administration (NNSA)
Grant/Contract Number:
89233218CNA000001
OSTI ID:
1984542
Report Number(s):
LA-UR--22-27368
Journal Information:
Geophysical Journal International, Journal Name: Geophysical Journal International Journal Issue: 1 Vol. 235; ISSN 0956-540X
Publisher:
Oxford University PressCopyright Statement
Country of Publication:
United Kingdom
Language:
English

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  • The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, Vol. 146, Issue 2 https://doi.org/10.1121/1.5120183
journal August 2019
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