Monitoring of anthropogenic noise on the shelf of Sakhalin Island during seismic survey research

The paper describes the technique and gives the results of acoustic-noise and seismoacoustic-signal-parameter measurements on a northeast shelf of Sakhalin Island, generated during seismoacoustic research at the licensed Chaivinskii site. The aim of measurements was acoustic control of the water area round an emitting vessel. Results of field measurements and 3-D simulations of seismoacoustic signal propagations on sea and land are presented.     

Dispersion dependences of elastic waves in an ice-covered shallow sea

The dispersion dependences of acoustic waves propagating under conditions close to an ice-covered shallow sea are investigated. A dispersion equation is derived for a layered medium consisting of an elastic layer (the ice cover), a liquid layer (the water column), and a homogeneous elastic half-space (the bottom). The possibilities of estimating certain parameters of the studied layered structure from an analysis of the dispersion curves are discussed. The results of numerical calculations are compared with the data of a full-scale experiment on detecting seismoacoustic signals in an ice-covered sea region.     

Electromagnetic and seismoacoustic signals revealed in karst caves (Central Italy)

Summary Since 1988–89 equipment for detecting electric, magnetic and seismoacoustic signals has been running inside the Amare cave. The Amare cave is placed on the southern slope of the Gran Sasso chain, that is one of the largest karst areas of the Italian Apennines. In 1992, a similar equipment was installed inside the Cervo cave. This cave is located in another karst area of the Central Apennines, at about 50 km southwestwards of the Amare cave. In both these measurements sites, the signals are recorded every ten minutes in a digital form; the equipment is able to record signals, the frequency of which ranges from some hundred Hz to some hundred kHz. The data collected up to now seem to identify two different states that we call ?quiet? and ?perturbed? state. In the quiet state only electric and magnetic signals with the highest frequencies appear. These signals are connected with radio broadcastings and with the general lightnings activity of the Earth. A perturbed state is characterized by the sudden appearance of seismoacoustic signals coupled with electric and magnetic ones. This phenomenology is connected with local processes. Rainfall, atmospheric-pressure variations and some thermal effects are responsible for these local processes. A possible model is proposed to justify the observed phenomenology: micromovements of the limestone blocks that constitute the roof of the caves are invoked for the production of seismoacoustic signals. The electrification generated by these movements is invoked for the production of electric and magnetic signals.     

Some aspects of the registration of low-frequency impulse signals in air using a complex receiving system

The specific features of the formation of impulse acoustic and seismic signals, as well as their propagation to relatively short distances under various conditions of their excitation, based on the registration of consistent data on a pressure field and an oscillation speed field are discussed. It is shown that the “delayed” character of the signals, especially at low exit angles of projectiles, is due to the intense interaction of a wave excited by a shot with the ground and to multiple reflections of the signals. The use of signals registered by the channels of a vector receiver makes it possible to obtain information on the spatial distribution of the signals. When a projectile bursts in air, the sound wave that is incident on the land surface induces a seismoacoustic wave that is first registered by channels of a combined receiving unit (CRU).     

Surface-to-volume wave conversion in shallow water with a gently sloping bottom

Marine sediments support seismoacoustic surface waves, which can propagate along the seafloor, in deep and shallow water, and even onshore. Because of the strong attenuation of compressional and especially shear waves in the sediments, the surface waves can significantly contribute to the acoustic field far from the shore only through their coupling with volume waves in the water. We theoretically study the excitation of acoustic normal modes by seismoacoustic surface waves in a shallow-water waveguide with a sloping bottom consisting of unconsolidated marine sediments. It is found that the coupling primarily occurs in the vicinity of a modal cutoff. The effects of geoacoustic parameters and stratification of soft marine sediments on the efficiency of surface-to-volume conversion are investigated. Published in Russian in Akusticheskiĭ Zhurnal, 2007, Vol. 53, No. 6, pp. 809–816. The article was translated by the author.     

Analysis of possibilities of the acoustic forecast of natural disasters

Potential of acoustic methods for forecasting disastrous phenomena of infrafrequency dynamics in natural media is assessed. A possibility of using seismoacoustic information in tsunami propagation monitoring systems is shown.     

Seismoacoustic emission of an oil-producing bed

Results are presented from a study of seismoacoustic emission appearing in an oil-saturated porous geological medium under the acoustic force action in a borehole. It is shown that dynamic nonlinear processes in the producing bed are activated under the internal elastic action on the stratum, changing the energy state of the medium, and this change can be seen as a change in the acoustic emission pattern. The correlation between the high-frequency part of the acoustic emission spectrum and the low-frequency one is found, indicating the development of this process in space at different scale levels.     

Experimental investigation of potentialities of seismoacoustic sea-bottom sounding using coherent pulse signals

We describe the results of experimental investigations of the seismoacoustical sounding of the bottom structure of the Caspian Sea. They were obtained using a ship towed hydroacoustic emitter of LFM pulse signals in several frequency ranges of frequency band from 100 to 1000 Hz. Based on the high coherence and relatively high frequencies of emitted signals, the results point to feasibility of substantial improvement in noise immunity and resolution of sounding the bottom rocks?? structure at depths of up to 1000 m thanks to combined application of a series of procedures of coherent processing of incoming signals. The processing involves matched filtering of individual pulses, coherent accumulation of pulse trains within the horizontally uniform bottom area, and adaptive path accumulation of pulses accounted for inclination of individual reflecting layers. The resulting gain in noise immunity came to about 30 dB, which points to possibility of efficient use of relatively low-power (up to 100 W) coherent sources for seismoacoustic sounding of sea bottom at minimal damage to local ecology.     

Recording seismoacoustic signals of a surface vessel with a two-coordinate strainmeter

Experimental data are analyzed, obtained during the recording of seismoacoustic signals with a two-coordinate laser strainmeter; the signals were generated by a surface vessel moving over the shelf and deep water. Based on analysis of the obtained data, we substantiate the prospect of applying shore-based laser strainmeters for the direction finding of vessels and the creation of monitoring systems for large water areas.     

Coherent Seismoacoustics

In this paper, we briefly overview the last-decade studies in the field of coherent seismoacoustics, carried out at the Institute of Applied Physics of the Russian Academy of Sciences (IAP RAS). Various schemes of the use of powerful hydroacoustic transmitters as effective seismic sources, as well as theoretical models for their analysis and numerical modeling are comparatively described. Methods for the high-resolution seismoacoustic imaging of underground inhomogeneities are discussed. These methods are based on the use of coherent signals, in particular, coded by large pseudorandom sequencies. The special attention is paid to the results of recent field experiments demonstrating the advantages and new capabilities of coherent methods of seismoacoustic diagnostics at different depths from tens of meters up to tens of kilometers.     

Reconstructing parameters of sediment layers of a shallow sea bottom using broadband seismoacoustic sources

We study the possibilities of reconstructings the parameters of the sediment layers of a shallow sea bottom from interference patterns appearing during sounding of the bottom by broadband seismoacoustic sources with a bistatic sea-bottom sounding scheme, adaptive signal reception with a horizontal array, and matched filtration of low-frequency seismoacoustic pulses excited with an air gun and interacting with the sea bottom, as well as seismoacoustic noise from a vessel in a shallow sea. The parameters of sediment layers of the sea bottom are reconstructed by statistical checking of hypotheses on the parameters of dynamic spectra obtained by parametric models. Comparative possibilities of reconstructing sea bottom parameters with bistatic and monostatic observation schemes are discussed.     

浅水近距离测量声场的干涉结构分析

为指导浅水中水平距离在十倍水深范围内进行的近距离声学测量工作,选取对软底浅水声场产生主要贡献的直达声线和一次水面反射声线,经过合理的近似处理,以射线解析方式给出了中低频信号声场干涉结构的表达式,并将表达式由单频信号推广到宽带信号和线性调频等信号形式。所得到的解析关系式定量给出了浅水中声场干涉结构与信号频率、信号带宽、设备布放深度和水平距离等参数的关系,由此进一步得到浅水条件下中近距离干涉声场的一些特性和规律。通过数值模拟和实际试验数据对上述关系式所进行的检验表明:在浅水的常规测量试验条件下,这些关系式可以较为准确地反映近距离干涉声场的起伏特征,由关系式推论得到的声场特性和规律也得到了初步验证。      

Surface-to-volume wave conversion in shallow water with a corrugated bottom

Acoustic transmission between points onshore or in very shallow water and points in deep water is strongly influenced by the shear rigidity of marine sediments, which control the parameters and the very existence of seismoacoustic surface waves. Previously, it was found that coupling between acoustic modes and the seismoacoustic surface waves is normally weak, although not negligible in the case of a gently sloping seafloor and soft sediments. In this paper, the previous work is extended by accounting for the small-scale roughness of the seafloor. The significant role of roughness in coupling between volume and surface waves is demonstrated. The combined effect of bottom topography, roughness, and wave attenuation in soft marine sediments on the sound propagation between points in shallow and deep water is discussed. Published in Russian in Akusticheskiĭ Zhurnal, 2008, Vol. 54, No. 3, pp. 400–407. The article was translated by the author.     

Comparison of fundamental frequency and perturbation measurements among three analysis systems

The need for standardization of procedures in approaches to voice measurement has been recently emphasized. The purpose of this study was to determine the extent to which the acoustic perturbation measurements from three different analysis systems agree when standardized recording and analysis procedures are used. High-quality acoustic voice recordings from 20 patients were analyzed. The results showed that, although fundamental frequency measurements were in strong agreement among the three systems tested, frequency and amplitude perturbation measurements were not in agreement. The underlying approaches to perturbation measurement appeared to be sufficiently different to produce different results. An argument is made for a standardized set of acoustic signals representing normal, dysphonic, and synthesized voices with known characteristics to facilitate testing of new acoustic analysis systems and confirm measurement accuracy and sensitivity.     

Analysis of spectra of acoustic signals generated by high-power pulsed laser radiation propagating in the atmosphere. I. Spectra of local plasma formations

Results of theoretical and experimental investigations into the spectra of acoustic signals generated by high-power pulsed laser radiation propagating in the atmosphere in the breakdown mode are given in the present paper. In Part I, results of theoretical and experimental investigations into the spectra of acoustic signals from laser breakdown initiated on a single solid aerosol particle and an ensemble of monodisperse particles depending on the particle material and sizes are presented. In Part II, spectra of acoustic signals from laser sparks in the atmosphere are analyzed, and the special features of the spectra of acoustic signals from individual plasma formations and discrete laser sparks are discussed. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Fizika, No. 11, pp. 74–80, November, 2005.     

A semi-automatic processing technique for elastic-wave laboratory data

This paper addresses the problem of determining the onset of transient signals such as seismograms, acoustic emissions or ultrasonic signals. Usual manual techniques of onset-time picking are time consuming when numerous measurements are available. This may occur when dealing with (i) anisotropic rocks requiring many elastic wave velocities measurements in the laboratory, (ii) 4-D seismic field data or (iii) laboratory acoustic emissions data. We present a semi-automatic processing technique devoted to the study of case (i). It is based on ultrasonic signal analysis by wavelet transform and an onset-time picking procedure combining Akaike Information Criterion and cross-correlation method. The first step consists in extracting, from the whole experimentally recorded signal, the frequency component corresponding to the perturbation induced by a typical ultrasonic transducer in the laboratory. The second step is dedicated to the onset-time picking of the phase arrival in the extracted signal. The use of this processing technique based on mathematical arguments reduces human subjectivity. Main outcomes are: (i) increase of signal-to-noise ratio; (ii) measurement of elastic wave velocities at prescribed central frequency; (iii) drastic increase of efficiency in wave data processing; and (iv) increase in reliability (repeatability) of wave data acquisition.     

Frequency dependent beating patterns and amplitude increase during the approach of an internal wave packet

A frequency-dependent beating pattern in the spectrogram of broadband signals transmitted during the approach of an internal wave packet to an acoustic propagating path is reported. An analytical expression relating the acoustic signal measurements and environmental parameters under certain conditions is obtained. Three-dimensional parabolic equation modeling results compare well with Shallow Water 2006 experiment data.     

Strong generation of coherent acoustic phonons in semiconductor quantum dots

We present experimental results obtained in two-color pump-probe experiments performed in semiconductor self-assembled quantum dot (QD) layers. The sample reflectivities present several acoustic contributions, among which are strong acoustic phonon wave packets. A comparison between one- and two-color experiments and a fine analysis of the echo shape attest that a high magnitude phonon pulse emerges from each single QD layer. This conclusion is supported by a numerical modeling which perfectly reproduces our experimental signals only if we introduce a strong generation in each QD layer. We explain such a strong emission thanks to an efficient capture of the carriers by the QDs.     

Effects of acoustic source and filtering on time-of-flight measurements

Time-of-flight (TOF) measurements are valuable in the estimation of distances, displacements and velocities of moving objects, phase differences of wave pulses, temperature of the atmosphere, and so on. The effects of sound source on time-of-flight measurements have been investigated in this paper. The sound sources considered are: electric horn, impact noise source, aerodynamic noise from a free jet, and the Hartmann whistle. The focus of the present study is to highlight the advantage of using Hartmann whistle for TOF measurements as this device is simple and attractive, without any moving parts. Time-of-flight of sound waves is calculated by cross-correlating the signals received by two microphones. Further, the effect of signal filtering on TOF measurements is demonstrated. The results indicate that the sound source has considerable effect on TOF measurements, and the accuracy can be significantly enhanced by appropriate signal conditioning. Hartmann whistle proves to be a good candidate as an acoustic source for TOF measurement.