The mean-field method in the problem of acoustic wave propagation in a turbulent atmosphere

We analyze the problem of acoustic-wave propagation in a turbulent atmosphere using the mean-field method. The equation for the sound pressure is written with accuracy up to terms that are linear with respect to the Mach number of the turbulent air flow. An expression for the attenuation constant of the mean field is obtained. For the turbulence model described by the von Kármán correlation function of fluctuations, the attenuation coefficient of the mean field is numerically studied in detail. It is shown that under typical conditions of the near-ground atmospheric layer, the predominant contribution to scattering of acoustic waves is given by the turbulent motion of the air masses. __________ Translated from Izvestiya Vysshikh Uchebnykh Zavedenii, Radiofizika, Vol. 51, No. 5, pp. 413–424, May 2008.