Acoustic method of atmosphere probing. Modern state and development prospects

Abstract

Acoustic methods of atmosphere sounding allow us to track the meteorological situation in the atmospheric boundary layer at low costs on-line. The urgency of the these methods development is determined by the need to monitor the environment in conditions of man-caused load increasing. Acoustic waves are much more sensitive to changes in air parameters than electromagnetic waves. However, at present, their effectiveness, compared with laser, thermal and other systems is relatively low. The development of the acoustic sounding method has two directions: the improvement of theoretical descriptions of the interaction of acoustic waves with the atmosphere and the improvement of sounding techniques. Therefore, the evaluation of the most promising paths requires a detailed analysis of the current state, both theoretical foundations and technical implementations of the method. The paper shows that modern acoustic locators are performed at a high technical level and at present the main problem of the method is the lack of an adequate theory of processing the information obtained. The most urgent problems of the method development at the present stage are formulated in the work. They relate to the inverse problems of the fundamental problems of the theory of sound scattering in an inhomogeneous moving medium. Therefore, at present, a number of consecutive progressive steps are required to solve applied problems in the direction of adapting existing achievements to the use in sodar’s systems. Among the urgent tasks that can be developed at the current stage, we can identify the most important. This is a refinement of models of acoustic waves reflection in a stable atmospheric boundary layer in the period of nighttime temperature inversions. Analysis of multi-path probing possibilities for various phase relationships in emitted signals is carried out. Analysis of the prospects for the use of modulated sounding signals is conducted. Naturally, in addition to the above, there are more complex tasks. These include, for example, the reflection analysis in a compressible medium or the optimization of the initial relationships. In practical terms, a clear justification for simplifications in specific tasks is promising.