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.     

Observations of polarized seismoacoustic T waves at and beneath the seafloor in the abyssal Pacific ocean

Combined seismic and hydrophone observations show that the traditional T wave propagates as a seismoacoustic polarized interface wave (Ti) coupled to the seafloor. Seismoacoustic Ti waves propagating at the sound speed of water are routinely observed over megameter distances at the deep (4979 m) seafloor Hawaii-2 Observatory (H2O) between Hawaii and California, even though the seafloor site is within a shadow zone for acoustic wave propagation. Ti has also been observed on seismometers 225 km SSW of Oahu at the OSN1 site at the seafloor and within an ODP borehole into the basalt basement. Analyses of timing, apparent velocity, energy, and polarization of these interface waves are presented. At low frequency (< approximately 5 Hz) Ti propagates dominantly in the sediments and is consistent with higher-mode Rayleigh waves. At higher frequencies the observed Ti waves dominantly propagate acoustically with characteristics suggesting local scattering. The observation of Ti from an earthquake in Guatemala at OSN1, whose path is blocked by the Island of Hawaii, is consistent with scattering from the vicinity of the Cross Seamount.     

Acoustoseismic wave fields generated by surface seismic vibrators

Results of experimental and theoretical studies of acoustoseismic wave fields generated by surface seismic vibrators are presented. In experiments with high-power seismic vibrators operating in a frequency range of 5–10 Hz, acoustic waves were recorded at distances up to 50 km from the source. The long-range sound propagation from seismic vibration sources was observed in a near-surface waveguide arising due to temperature inversion. The effect of the acoustoseismic induction, i.e., excitation of surface seismic waves by the acoustic wave arriving from the vibrator, was also detected. The results of mathematical modeling of the acoustoseismic field generation by an operating seismic vibrator are presented. They include the modeling of the radiation of a harmonic acoustic wave’s by the vibrator, its trapping by the near-surface waveguide, the long-range low-frequency acoustic wave propagation in the presence of the waveguide, and the induction of a surface seismic wave by the arriving harmonic acoustic wave. It is shown that a seismoacoustic wave propagating at the boundary between the elastic earth and the atmosphere is an analog of the Stonely wave that appears in the presence of a near-surface low-temperature layer in the atmosphere.     

The analogy between acoustic waves and water surface waves with refraction

The similarity between acoustic waves in an inhomogeneous medium and water surface waves with variable water depth is established. The two systems are analogous if they both are characterized by the same index of refraction field. Based on this analogy, acoustic refraction problems are treated by utilizing a surface wave simulation achieved with a water wave tank. Experimental results obtained from the wave tank for various situations are used to deduce the behavior of the corresponding acoustic systems. It is concluded that there are two major advantages in employing a water wave tank. The first is that the entire wavefront configuration can visually be observed; the second is that water surface waves can be investigated in the laboratory much more readily and more economically than acoustic waves.     

Dispersion of interface waves in sediments with power-law shear speed profiles. I. Exact and approximate analytical results.

In the upper tens of meters of ocean bottom, unconsolidated marine sediments consisting of clay, silt, or fine sand with high porosity are "almost incompressible" in the sense that the shear wave velocity is much smaller than the compressional wave velocity. The shear velocity has very large gradients close to the ocean floor leading to strong coupling of compressional and shear waves in such "soft" sediments. The weak compressibility opens an avenue for developing a theory of elastic wave propagation in continuously stratified soft sediments that fully accounts for the coupling. Elastic waves in soft sediments consist of "fast" waves propagating with velocities close to the compressional velocity and "slow" waves propagating with velocities on the order of the shear velocity. For the slow waves, the theory predicts the existence of surface waves at the ocean-sediment boundary. In the important special case of the power-law depth-dependence of shear rigidity, phase and group velocities of the interface waves are shown to scale as a certain power of frequency. An explicit, exact solution was obtained for the surface waves in sediments characterized by constant density and a linear increase of shear rigidity with depth, that is, for the case of shear speed proportional to the square root of the depth below the sediment-water interface. Asymptotic and perturbation techniques were used to extend the result to more general environments. Theoretical dispersion relations agreed well with numerical simulations and available experimental data and, as demonstrated in a companion paper [D. M. F. Chapman and O. A. Godin, J. Acoust. Soc. Am 110, 1908 (2001)] led to a simple and robust inversion of interface wave travel times for shear velocity profiles in the sediment.     

重塑砂质含气沉积物的声响应特性与模型预测分析

海洋沉积物中气泡的存在对沉积物的声学特性有显著影响.为实现在实验室内对不同初始应力条件下含气沉积物的声学特性测量,研制了一套可用于土工三轴仪的双探针声学测量系统,基于CT扫描试验获得重塑含气砂样品中气泡群的尺寸分布,确定其共振频率范围.试验结果表明:细砂沉积物声速随气体含量的增加呈指数型降低,衰减系数随气体含量的增加呈...     

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.     

The influence of magnetoelastic coupling of exchange spin waves on the spectrum of magnetoacoustic vibrations in planar structures

The influence of coupling between exchange spin waves and acoustic waves on the spectrum of magnetoelastic vibrations in planar structures (such as a ferrite film-dielectric substrate structure) is investigated theoretically. A strong magnetoelastic coupling is observed in a narrow spectrum of magnetoacoustic modes that corresponds to the phase matching of the exchange magnetostatic and acoustic modes. An explanation is offered for the experimental results obtained earlier by the authors, according to which the linear excitation of exchange acoustic and dipole exchange acoustic modes occurs in a spectral range corresponding to the resonance magnetoelastic coupling of exchange modes irrespective of the degree of pinning of surface spins in the ferrite film. It is demonstrated that the exchange acoustic and dipole exchange acoustic modes can be excited in films with free surface spins due to a substantial transformation of the structure of normal modes of the magnetization vector and elastic displacements in the range of the phase matching of the exchange spin and acoustic modes.     

Acoustic wave monitoring of the excimer laser ablation of YBCO high-Tc superconductor

Monitoring the amplitude and the delay of arrival of the pressure waves generated during the interaction of laser pulses with YBCO in air, we can determine the vaporization and the ablation thresholds, the etching rate, the change of the acoustic wave velocity and the effect of plasma shielding on the etching rate. The steep increase of the amplitude and the order-of-magnitude increase of the etching rate above the ablation threshold, suggest that the laser–target coupling mechanism changes from (thermal) vaporization below threshold to a rapid solid-to-gas phase transition. The dumping of the acoustic waves following the ablation with successive laser pulses correlates with the evolution of the YBCO high-T_c superconductor surface morphology, which is known to relate to the deposition rate and the surface morphology of pulsed-laser-deposited high-T_c thin films. Received: 7 January 2000 / Accepted: 9 October 2000 / Published online: 25 July 2001     

Nonlinear raman-type acoustic scattering in three-phase marine sediments

Stimulated Raman-type acoustic scattering by bubble oscillations in three-phase marine sediments, which consist of a solid frame, the pore water, and air bubbles, is considered. A model is developed for the case of the bubbles surrounded by water. The acoustic properties of the sediments are described on the basis of the Biot theory of sound propagation in a fluid-saturated porous medium. Nonlinear wave equations are obtained for marine sediments containing air bubbles. Expressions for the nonlinear scattering coefficient and the threshold intensity of the exciting sound wave are derived. A possibility of an experimental observation of the scattering process is discussed.     

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.     

Transmission of low-frequency sound through the water-to-air interface

L.M. Brekhovskikh revealed and studied the important role played by inhomogeneous waves emitted by a point source when they pass through an interface with a medium in which the velocity of sound is lower, for example, from water to air. This paper studies the energy characteristics of sound emitted into air by an underwater point source. The energy transfer due to inhomogeneous waves is shown to cause the phenomenon of anomalous transparency of the interface for low-frequency sound. The anomalous transparency manifests itself in that the energy flux through the interface increases with decreasing frequency of sound and, at sufficiently low frequencies, almost all of the acoustic energy produced by the underwater source is emitted into air. Conversely, at high frequencies, when the contribution of the inhomogeneous waves becomes negligible, the water-to-air interface is similar to a perfectly reflecting surface and almost all of the acoustic energy produced by the source is emitted into water. The anomalous transparency phenomenon changes the conventional opinion on the possibility of acoustic coupling between points in water and air and on the role played by physical processes evolving in the water column in generating atmospheric acoustic noise.     

A three-dimensional vibroacoustic model for the prediction of underwater noise from offshore pile driving

Steel monopiles are nowadays widely used as foundations for a large number of offshore structures. The installation procedure commonly involves a pile driving process which can last up to several hours depending upon pile dimensions, soil conditions and input energy of the hydraulic hammer. In impact pile driving, a hydraulic hammer delivers a series of hammer blows at the head of the pile that drive the pile into the sediment. Each hammer strike results in pile vibrations that emit strong impulsive sounds into the water column which can be harmful for the marine ecosystem. With today's increasing concern regarding the environmental impact of such operations, engineering tools which will be able to provide reliable predictions of the underwater noise levels are required. In this study, a linear semi-analytical formulation of the coupled vibroacoustics of a complete pile–water–soil interaction model is addressed. The pile is described by a high order thin shell theory whereas both water and soil are modelled as three-dimensional continua. Results obtained with the developed model indicate that the near-field response in the water column consists mainly of pressure conical waves generated by the supersonic compressional waves in the pile excited by the impact hammer. The soil response is dominated by shear waves with almost vertical polarization. The Scholte waves are also generated at the water–seabed interface which can produce pressure fluctuations in the water column that are particularly significant close to the sea floor. The effects of soil elasticity and pile size are thoroughly investigated and their influence on the generated pressure levels is highlighted. The results are also compared with those ones of a similar model in which the soil is treated as an equivalent acoustic fluid. It is shown that the latter approximation can yield inaccurate results at low frequencies especially for harder soil sediments.     

水下声辐射激励水表面声波的特征参数测量

采用激光干涉方法对水下声辐射激励水表面声波的特征参数频率和振幅进行了测量研究。从理论上对水表面声波激光相干测量信号的频谱构成进行了分析,在此基础上提出了水表面声波两个重要声学参数频率和振幅的解算方法,并通过数值仿真进行了验证。搭建了一套简单的激光干涉测量实验系统,对不同频率和声压激励的水表面声波进行了测量实验,验证了水表面声波频率和振幅解调方法的准确性。对水表面声波横向传播的振幅衰减现象进行了初步的实验研究,结果表明水表面声波的频率越高,振幅的横向衰减越快。研究表明激光相干检测方法能够准确地实现水表面声波振幅和频率的测量。      

Numerical analysis of surface and leaky surface acoustic waves in new piezoelectric KNBO3, PKN, and LGN crystals

We perform a numerical analysis of the properties of surface acoustic waves (SAW) as well as leaky surface acoustic waves (LSAW) in piezoelectric KNbO₃, Pb₂KNb₅O₁₅ (PKN) and La₃Ga_5.5Nb_0.5O₁₄ (LGN) crystals. We determine optimal thermostable cuts and directions in which the SAWs have high phase velocity, a very high coefficient of electromechanical coupling. and a small angle between the phase and group velocities. We also found the cuts and directions in which the LSAWs can exist. The characteristics of the LSAWs (velocity, the coefficient of electromechanical coupling, angle between the phase and group velocities, temperature coefficient of velocity, and coefficient of surface absorption along the LSAW propagation direction) are calculated. N. I. Lobachevsky State University, Nizhny Novgorod, Russia. Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 42, No. 5, pp. 485–493, May 1999.     

Numerical Simulation of Hydro- and Seismoacoustic Waves on the Shelf

Acoustical Physics - A finite element method is used for three-dimensional numerical simulation of hydro- and seismoacoustic waves in shallow water, generated by harmonically oscillating sources....     

用非饱和三相孔弹模型研究浅层土壤中地震波的传播特性

研究浅层土壤中声波耦合的地震波的传播特性, 用于声波探雷技术的机理分析. 根据浅层土壤具有孔隙度和可压缩性的特点, 利用非饱和三相孔隙介质中的地震波模型, 研究了土壤孔隙度、含水饱和度等参数对地震波传播特性的影响. 计算结果显示: 在给定的参数条件下, 地震波的传播速度和衰减系数均随频率的增加而增加; 纵波的传播速度随孔隙度的增加而减小, 横波的传播速度随孔隙度的增加而增加; 地震波的传播特性随含水饱和度的增加变化比较复杂. 通过对计算结果与已发表实验结果的比较分析, 讨论了解析方法的可行性, 为声-地震耦合机理及其在声波探雷研究中的应用提供了一定的理论基础. 关键词： 声-地震耦合 地震波 孔隙度 声波探雷     

含少量气泡流体饱和孔隙介质中的弹性波

考虑孔隙流体中含有少量气泡,且气泡在声波作用下线性振动,研究声波在这种孔隙介质中的传播特性.本文先由流体质量守恒方程和孔隙度微分与流体压力微分的关系推导出了含有气泡形式的渗流连续性方程;在处理渗流连续性方程中的气体体积分数时间导数时,应用Commander气泡线性振动理论导出气体体积分数时间导数与流体压强时间导数的关系,进而得到了修正的Biot形式的渗流连续性方程;最后结合Biot动力学方程求得了含气泡形式的位移场方程,便可得到两类纵波及一类横波的声学特性.通过对快、慢纵波的频散、衰减及两类波引起的流体位移与固体位移关系的考察,发现少量气泡的存在对快纵波和慢纵波的传播特性影响较大.     

Radiation of surface Stoneley waves by distributed force sources acting at the solid earth-atmosphere interface

Using the Fourier transform, we find an integral solution describing the excitation of seismoacoustic waves in the solid Earth and the atmosphere by time-dependent forces arbitrarily distributed over the interface between the media. The solid Earth and the atmosphere are modeled by an isotropic solid half-space and a homogeneous gaseous half-space, respectively. Depending on the types of the excited surface and bulk waves, classification of the corresponding force distributions is performed. In the case of harmonic sources, an expression for the period-averaged radiated power of the Stoneley wave is obtained. For arbitrary time dependence of the forces, we find an expression describing the the Stoneley-wave energy radiated during the entire time of the source operation. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 50, No. 7, pp. 624–637, July 2007.