ECHOES Fall 2005
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The newsletter of The Acoustical Society of America Volume 15, Number 4 Fall 2005 Infrasound from the 2004-2005 earthquakes and tsunami near Sumatra Milton Garces, Pierre Caron, and Claus Hetzer Infrasound arrays in the infrasonic source location esti- Pacific and Indian Oceans that mates for the selected Sumatra are part of the International earthquake and tsunami Monitoring System (IMS) of the sequence, we deduce that sub- Comprehensive Nuclear-Test- marine earthquakes can pro- Ban Treaty (CTBT) recorded duce infrasound. The sound three distinct waveform signa- may be radiated by the vibra- tures associated with the tion of the ocean surface or the December 26, 2004 Aceh earth- vibration of land masses near quake (M9, USGS) and tsuna- the epicenter. mi. The infrasound stations It is also apparent that observed (1) seismic arrivals infrasound stations can also (P, S and surface waves) from serve as seismic and T-phase the earthquake, (2) tertiary stations for large events. For arrivals (T-phases), propagated the three submarine earth- along sound channels in the quakes that we investigated, ocean and coupled back into the differences in the observed the ground, and (3) infrasonic signals may be due to either arrivals associated with either source or propagation effects. the tsunami generation mecha- Although there is a substantial nism near the seismic source or difference between the infor- the motion of the ground above Paths of infrasound signals from earthquakes mation contained in the low sea level. All signals were (0.02 – 0.1 Hz) and high (0.5- recorded by the pressure sensors in the arrays. The seismic 5 Hz) frequency bands of the infrasound range, it does and T-phase recordings are due to the sensitivity of the micro- appear that both small (Nias) and large (Aceh) tsunamis phones to ground vibration, whereas the infrasound arrivals may produce infrasound. correspond to dispersed acoustic waves propagating through The candidate source locations near the epicenter, in con- atmospheric waveguides. A similar, but not identical, junction to the unique signal observed at Diego Garcia for the sequence of arrivals was observed at Diego Garcia Atoll Aceh event, suggests that infrasound may be combined with (range of ~2860 km) during the March 28, 2005 Nias earth- other technologies as a discriminator for tsunami genesis. quake (M8.7) and the April 10, 2005 Mentawai earthquakes Fundamental research is needed on how low-frequency sound (M6.7 and 6.5), suggesting that above-water ground motion from large earthquakes and tsunamis can be utilized in hazard can generate infrasound in the Sumatra region. In addition, warning and mitigation. very low frequency infrasound was produced in the Bay of Bengal region, suggesting that the interaction of the tsunami Milton Garces, Pierre Caron, and Claus Hetzer are at the with the coastal bathymetry can produce sound. Infrasound Laboratory at the University of Hawaii. This arti- From the prominent features of infrasonic arrivals and cle is based on paper 2aPA1 at the Vancouver ASA meeting. We hear that... ț ASA Fellow Jan Achenbach, Walter P. ț Masakazu Konishi and Eric Knudsen will share the Murphy Professor and Distinguished $200,000 Neuroscience Prize from the Peter Gruber McCormick School Professor of the Foundation for their research on the neural circuits and mech- Departments of Mechanical Engineering and anisms that underlie sound localization in barn owls. Konishi Civil and Environmental Engineering at is at the California Institute of Technology, while Knudsen is at Northwestern University was awarded the National Medal of Stanford University. Technology. He was presented this award, the nation’s highest honor for technological innovation, by President Bush in From the editor Washington D.C. at the White House on March 14, 2005. A big event for the Acoustical Society of America is the ț ASA Fellow Clive Dym, Professor of Engineering at Harvey launching of the new magazine Acoustics Today. Dick Stern is Mudd College, has been awarded the Ruth and Joel Spira especially to be congratulated for creating this new magazine. Outstanding Design Educator Award for “exceptional contri- ECHOES is proud to become a part of this new magazine. butions to design education through widely-cited authorship Since the publication of ECHOES has been tied to ASA on engineering design, through sponsorship of the ASA work- meetings and since the Fall meeting in Minneapolis is being shops and conference panels, and through enthusiastic mentor- held earlier than usual, it was decided to publish two slightly ing of engineering students in the art and science of design.” different versions of ECHOES. This version will be printed and ț ASA Fellow Ira Hirsh has received a Life Achievement mailed to members so they will receive it well in advance of Award from the American Auditory Society. The announce- the Minneapolis meeting, and it will go online, as usual. The ment was made at the Society’s 2005 Scientific and other version will be incorporated into Acoustics Today. In the Technology Meeting in Scottsdale, Arizona. future, only one version is planned. ASA Fellow H. Vincent Poor, George Van Ness Lothrop As usual, I urge readers to submit Letters to the Editor, Professor in Engineering at Princeton University, has been which are more interesting to read than letters from the editor. named the 2005 winner of the Distinguished Alumnus Award Thomas Rossing by the Tau Beta Pi engineering honor society at Auburn University. A $2000 scholarship will be given in Dr. Poor’s Message from the name to a deserving student member of Tau Beta Pi. President ț The American Institute of Physics State Department Science Fellowship represents an opportunity for scientists to William A. Yost make a contribution to U.S. foreign policy. At least one Fellow As I start my presidency the annually will be chosen to spend a year working in a bureau of ASA is in very good shape and the State Department, providing scientific and technical there are several new develop- expertise to the Department while becoming directly involved ments underway. The Society will in the foreign policy process. Fellows are required to be U.S. be publishing a new magazine, citizens and members of at least one of the 10 AIP Member Acoustics Today. ARLO (Acoustics Societies at the time of application. Please visit Research Letters OnLine) is under- http://www.aip.org/gov/sdf.html for details. All application going change under the new edi- materials must be postmarked by November 1, 2005. torship of Keith Wilson. The upcoming ASA meetings in Minneapolis and Providence will be excellent, and I hope you will attend one or both. The Minneapolis meeting will be a joint ASA/NOISE-CON meeting. The work of Dick Stern’s Vision 2010 Committee is coming to an end, and a report on suggestions for ASA’s future will be forthcoming. We continue Newsletter of the Acoustical Society of America to monitor the financial health of ASA. The Society is fiscally Provided as a benefit of membership to ASA members sound and we have several groups working to make sure we stay that way. The Acoustical Society of America was organized in 1929 I thought I would take a few words to explain a little bit to increase and diffuse the knowledge of acoustics and to about the organization of the ASA that is responsible for its promote its practical applications. management. The ASA is a largely volunteer organization, but Echoes Editor . .Thomas Rossing we do have a small, but outstanding staff in both the ASA Editor-in-Chief . .Allan Pierce Advisors . .Elaine Moran, Charles Schmid Headquarters and Standards offices. While the President of the ASA is its CEO, the main day-to-day operations are expertly Phone inquiries: 516-576-2360. Contributions, including managed by our Executive Director, Charles Schmid. The ASA Letters to the Editor, should be sent to Thomas Rossing, Physics Dept., Northern Illinois University, Dekalb, IL office is under the leadership Elaine Moran, ASA Office 60115 <[email protected]> Manager, and is located in Melville, New York on the site of the continued on next page 2 Acoustics in the City of Lakes ASA’s papers will 150th meeting be presented. will be a joint ASA has meeting with scheduled a NOISE-CON distinguished 2005 in the lecture by beautiful city Manfred of Minnea- Schroeder, polis. It is and NOISE- hard to be- Technical Program Organizing Meeting in Minneapolis CON has lieve that this is only our second meeting in this lovely city, and scheduled plenary talks by Carl Burleson, Paul Donavan, and it is a meeting you will not want to miss. Minneapolis has James West. A one-day colloquium and discussion on the seven lakes within the city limits, and there are many more in topic “Imaging and Control of HIFU-Induced Lesions” will neighboring St. Paul and the suburbs, not to mention over be held on Tuesday, October 18, and a seminar on Power 11,000 of them throughout the state of Minnesota. Strolling or Plant Noise will be given by Frank Brittain on Sunday, biking around these lakes is a favorite pastime of visitors, but if October 16, 1:00 p.m.-5:00 p.m. A tutorial on Diagnostic shopping is more to your liking, the Mall of America is the Imaging in Biomedical Ultrasound will be given by E. Carr largest indoor shopping mall in the United States. Everbach on Monday, October 17, at 7:00 p.m. Minneapolis is the cultural center of the Upper Midwest, ASA/INCE members are invited to attend a rehearsal of with the Tyrone Guthrie Theater, the Walker Art Center, the the Minnesota Orchestra (Osmo Vanska, conductor) on Tuesday Minneapolis Institute of Art, and Orchestra Hall all close to afternoon, October 18, followed by a guided tour of Orchestra downtown, and the Weisman Art Museum not far away on the Hall with Cyril Harris as tour guide.