Year: 2007
Type: dissertation
Abstract: There have been a few reports that snow generates sound similar to that of \nrain when it strikes the ocean surface but it is hard to imagine that the \nmechanisms responsible for rain sounds could be the same as those that \ncause sound from falling snow. We explore the sound generated by falling \nsnow through laboratory measurements under different atmospheric \nconditions that give rise to variety of snowflake types with different snowfall \nrates by using a small tank filled with tap water. We find that there is a well \ndefined spectral peak at around 12 kHz (similar to that of rain) in sound \ngenerated by some snow types; other snow types do not produce appreciable \nunderwater sound. The data suggest that the sound generated by falling snow \nis such that ocean snowfall rates could be estimated by evaluating spectral \ncharacteristics of the sound. More experiments need to be done for that \npurpose as sound levels depend on snowfall rate, snow types, sea state, and \nwind speed.
Author: Tahani Alsarayreh
Language: English
Subfield: Oceanography
Field: Earth and Planetary Sciences
Domain: Physical Sciences
Open Access status: green
OpenAlex ID: W2282924588