Modeling of infrasonic and acoustic-gravity wave propagation, nonlinear evolution, and observable effects

Abstract

Mechanical disturbances associated with hazardous events—e.g., earthquakes, explosions (volcanic or man-made)—and severe weather – generate broad spectra of infrasound and acoustic-gravity waves (AGWs). These wave signals may provide diagnostic insight into the processes that generated them. They are routinely detected as fluctuations in atmospheric pressure, measured at ground or from balloon-borne platforms; at lower frequencies (<1 Hz), and where they may attain sufficient amplitudes at high altitudes, they may also be measured via the fluctuations that they impose in densities of layered species throughout the atmosphere and ionosphere. Thus, they provide complementary remote sensing opportunities, where waves and their effects, especially above and surrounding larger sources, may be diagnosed as they propagate. We review recent progress and techniques for high-fidelity modeling and simulation, to capture the propagation and evolution of low-frequency infrasound and AGWs throughout the atmosphere, from 0–500 km altitude (from surface to exobase). Strategies to (1) efficiently extend model simulation domains well into the diffusive thermosphere, to (2) connect models of atmospheric dynamics to those for other measurable processes (e.g., the ionosphere), and to (3) construct simulations that extend from source processes to specific remote sensing methodologies are discussed.