Abstract
A method is developed to apply acoustic tomography methods to a localized network of infrasound arrays with intention of monitoring the atmosphere state in the region around the network using non-local sources without requiring knowledge of the precise source location or non-local atmosphere state. Closely spaced arrays provide a means to estimate phase velocities of signals that can provide limiting bounds on certain characteristics of the atmosphere. Larger spacing between such clusters provide a means to estimate celerity from propagation times along multiple unique stratospherically or thermospherically ducted propagation paths and compute more precise estimates of the atmosphere state. In order to avoid the commonly encountered complex, multimodal distributions for parametric atmosphere descriptions and to maximize the computational efficiency of the method, an optimal parametrization framework is constructed. This framework identifies the ideal combination of parameters for tomography studies in specific regions of the atmosphere and statistical model selection analysis shows that high quality corrections to the middle atmosphere winds can be obtained using as few as three parameters. Comparison of the resulting estimates for synthetic data sets shows qualitative agreement between the middle atmosphere winds and those estimated from infrasonic traveltime observations.
| Original language | English |
|---|---|
| Pages (from-to) | 1557-1566 |
| Number of pages | 10 |
| Journal | Geophysical Journal International |
| Volume | 208 |
| Issue number | 3 |
| DOIs | |
| State | Published - Mar 1 2017 |
| Externally published | Yes |
Funding
The authors would like to acknowledge R. Whitaker and S. Arrowsmith for insightful discussion of the framework and D. Drob for discussion of atmospheric sounding capabilities. This research was funded by the Los Alamos Laboratory Directed Research and Development (LDRD) program. The NASA GEOS-5 atmospheric data analysis fields utilized here in conjunction with other data sources in the NRL G2S atmospheric specification were provided by the GlobalModeling and Assimilation Office (GMAO) at NASA Goddard Space Flight Center through the online data portal in the NASA Center for Climate Simulation. The corresponding NOAA GFS analysis field also utilized G2S specifications, were obtained from NOAA's National Operational Model Archive and Distribution System (NOMADS), which is maintained at NOAA's National Climatic Data Center (NCDC).
| Funders | Funder number |
|---|---|
| Los Alamos Laboratory Directed Research and Development | |
| National Aeronautics and Space Administration | |
| National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration | |
| Laboratory Directed Research and Development |
Keywords
- Acoustic properties
- Inverse theory
- Wave propagation