Many around the world are experiencing life with very low noise levels due to restrictions as we are confined to our home and there is a decrease in the industrial, transportation and leisure activity. This provides a wonderful opportunity to quantify and record for the future the lower noise levels of our soundscapes. With the reduction in shipping there is also a change in the underwater soundscapes.
Nowadays there are a high number of noise monitoring systems (noise monitoring terminals, city wide systems, underwater systems etc.) installed all over the world which will capture this information for the future. However, there are many acousticians working from home with access to a sound level meter that can be used to capture the soundscape from their balcony or from their garden and compare the before and after the restrictions.
The IYS 2020 committee has provided a central contact between a number around the world who were thinking similarly that there would be some benefit in coordination and a little standardization in the capture of the data. Marçal Serra from CESVA has taken a lead to set up a LinkedIn group COVID-19 Noise Reduction (at www.linkedin.com/groups/13844820/) and with hashtag #COVID19NoiseReduction for any posts.
The following is a general structure for those who wish to participate and share their data in the future. But do not break your confinement to report this data!
Place: Country and city (e.g., Spain village near Barcelona)
Primary noise source: (e.g., Traffic noise: note number of lanes per direction or Social noise: note if café/bar/restaurant/sporting)
Noise measuring system: The noise measuring system used to measure Lduring, Lbefore, and Lafter
Noise level during COVID-19 confinement:Lduring, expressed as a weighted overall level (preferably LAeq,1 hour), spectrum or psychoacoustic metrics as Loudness. It could also be reported as an image of the noise time history or a weekly color map and/or compiled into a report/article/conference paper with the measurement details and the comparison data
Noise level before & after COVID-19 confinement:Lbefore & Lafter, expressed in the same way as Lduring and over the same time period.
Most industrial activities create noise that can be harmful to the environment as well as to their workers. To minimize this effect, governments, associations, and companies have created regulations, standards, and codes to set the allowable noise both inside the sites, that can be harmful to the workers, as well as to the environment. In a lot of cases, during the planning phase, the plant owner and project management want to be sure that the noise levels are acceptable. Since the plant is not built yet, what can be done is creating a noise model to simulate the plant, so that the noise levels can be predicted. In this article, we will explore how we can do so.
The first thing we must know is how much noise does the noise sources inside of the plant will emit. The noise source is usually described in two ways which is Sound Power Level (Lw or SWL), and Sound Pressure Level (Lp or SPL) in certain distance, most commonly Lp in 1 m distance. There are multiple ways to get this information for certain noise sources. First, if the equipment type and model have been chosen, the equipment manufacturer will normally report the noise level in their datasheet. However, this is not usually the case with most of noise predictions since the noise study is normally done before the equipment suppliers are appointed. So, the second way to be able to predict the noise emission is by following empirical formulas that are developed by researchers. You can find such formulas in some textbooks, journals, and papers. For rotating parts, you will need its rated power and rotational speed to be able to estimate the noise emission.
For example, in the speed range of 3000-3600 rpm, the noise level of a pump with drive motor power above 75 kW can be predicted using the following equation:
Suppose a pump with rotational speed of 3000 rpm and 100 kW, according to the formula, it can be estimated that the noise level at 1 m from the pump would be 92 dB. And suppose the noise source can be considered as point source on the ground (hemisphere propagation), the sound power level of the pump can be calculated using the following formula:
Where r is the distance from source to receiver
And in this case, the predicted Lw would be 100 dB.
Thirds, noise measurement to a similar equipment can also be an option to be able to determine the noise level of the new equipment. Another option, in some countries, there are noise emission limit for certain equipment, you can use that limit if it is applicable for your project.
After the Lw of all noise sources is obtained, we want to calculate the noise levels (the Lp) at the receivers. There are some standards which procedure can be followed to calculate this. Few of which are ISO 9613-2, NORD 2000, CNOSSOS EU, and many others. Most of the standards consider some factors to the calculation such as distance, atmospheric absorption, ground reflection, screening effect (from barriers and obstacles) and other factors such as volume absorption from vegetation, industrial site, etc. Most consultants and projects will require a software such as SoundPLAN to do this calculation.
Depending the project, there are few types of noise limit which compliance will need to be ensured. The most common ones are environmental noise limit, noise exposure limit, area noise limit and absolute noise limit. Besides, the noise level during emergency is also modelled so that the information can be used for safety and PAGA (Public Address and General Alarm) study.
Environmental noise limit is usually calculated for the plant’s contribution to the plant’s boundary as well as to the nearest sensitive receiver such as residential and school near the plant. How this is accessed depends on the regulation applicable on the plant area. In Indonesia for example, the noise limit for residential area is Lsm 55 dBA and industrial area is Lsm 70 dBA. Lsm is a measure like Ldn, but the night noise level addition is 5 dB instead of the 10 dB addition that most other countries, especially Europeans use. To ensure compliance with this regulation, the noise level at fence should be less than Lsm 70 dBA, and suppose there is a residential area nearby, the contribution from the site should be less than 55 dBA. It is also advisable to measure the existing noise level at the sensitive receivers to make the study more relevant to the situation.
Noise exposure limit is the maximum exposure to noise that the workers get during their working period. In Indonesia, the noise exposure limit is 85 dBA for 8 working hours. To change the working hours, 3 dB exchange rate is used. For example, if the noise level in the plant is 88 dBA, then the workers can only work there for 4 hours, if it is 91 dBA, then the time limit is 2 hours, and so on. To extend the working hours on a noisy area, the options are to actually reduce the noise level by reducing the noise emission from the source or noise control at transmission (for example using barrier), or by usage of Hearing Protection Device (HPD) for the workers such as ear plugs and ear muffs. The noise exposure of workers after usage of HPD can be calculated using the following formula:
Where NRR is the noise reduction rating of the HPD in dB.
Different area might have different noise level limits, and therefore area noise limits are useful. For example, in an unmanned mechanical room, the noise level can be high, for instance 110 dBA. However, inside of the site office, the allowable noise level is much lower, for example 50 dBA. This noise level shall be calculated to ensure compliance with the noise limit. Different companies might have different limits for this to ensure their employees’ health and productivity. If the area is indoor and the noise source is outdoor, then the interior noise level can be estimated using standards such as ISO 12354-3.
The absolute noise limit is the highest noise level allowable at the plant, and shall not be exceeded at any times, including emergency. In most cases, the absolute noise limit for impulsive sound is 140 dBA. To ensure compliance with this requirement, potential high-level noise shall be calculated, for example safety valves.
During emergency, different noise sources than normal situation will be activated, such as flare, blowdown valves, fire pumps, and other equipment. In such cases, the sound from the alarm and Public Address system must be able to be heard by the workers inside of the plant. Normally the target for the SPL from the PAGA system should be higher than 10 dB above the noise level. Therefore, the noise level during emergency in each area should be well-known.
Most industrial activities create noise that can be harmful to the environment as well as to their workers. To minimize this effect, governments, associations, and companies have created regulations, standards, and codes to set the allowable noise both inside the sites, that can be harmful to the workers, as well as to the environment. In a lot of cases, during the planning phase, the plant owner and project management want to be sure that the noise levels are acceptable. Since the plant is not built yet, what can be done is creating a noise model to simulate the plant, so that the noise levels can be predicted. In this article, we will explore how we can do so.
The first thing we must know is how much noise does the noise sources inside of the plant will emit. The noise source is usually described in two ways which is Sound Power Level (Lw or SWL), and Sound Pressure Level (Lp or SPL) in certain distance, most commonly Lp in 1 m distance. There are multiple ways to get this information for certain noise sources. First, if the equipment type and model have been chosen, the equipment manufacturer will normally report the noise level in their datasheet. However, this is not usually the case with most of noise predictions since the noise study is normally done before the equipment suppliers are appointed. So, the second way to be able to predict the noise emission is by following empirical formulas that are developed by researchers. You can find such formulas in some textbooks, journals, and papers. For rotating parts, you will need its rated power and rotational speed to be able to estimate the noise emission.
For example, in the speed range of 3000-3600 rpm, the noise level of a pump with drive motor power above 75 kW can be predicted using the following equation:
Suppose a pump with rotational speed of 3000 rpm and 100 kW, according to the formula, it can be estimated that the noise level at 1 m from the pump would be 92 dB. And suppose the noise source can be considered as point source on the ground (hemisphere propagation), the sound power level of the pump can be calculated using the following formula:
Where r is the distance from source to receiver
And in this case, the predicted Lw would be 100 dB.
Thirds, noise measurement to a similar equipment can also be an option to be able to determine the noise level of the new equipment. Another option, in some countries, there are noise emission limit for certain equipment, you can use that limit if it is applicable for your project.
After the Lw of all noise sources is obtained, we want to calculate the noise levels (the Lp) at the receivers. There are some standards which procedure can be followed to calculate this. Few of which are ISO 9613-2, NORD 2000, CNOSSOS EU, and many others. Most of the standards consider some factors to the calculation such as distance, atmospheric absorption, ground reflection, screening effect (from barriers and obstacles) and other factors such as volume absorption from vegetation, industrial site, etc. Most consultants and projects will require a software such as SoundPLAN to do this calculation.
Depending the project, there are few types of noise limit which compliance will need to be ensured. The most common ones are environmental noise limit, noise exposure limit, area noise limit and absolute noise limit. Besides, the noise level during emergency is also modelled so that the information can be used for safety and PAGA (Public Address and General Alarm) study.
Environmental noise limit is usually calculated for the plant’s contribution to the plant’s boundary as well as to the nearest sensitive receiver such as residential and school near the plant. How this is accessed depends on the regulation applicable on the plant area. In Indonesia for example, the noise limit for residential area is Lsm 55 dBA and industrial area is Lsm 70 dBA. Lsm is a measure like Ldn, but the night noise level addition is 5 dB instead of the 10 dB addition that most other countries, especially Europeans use. To ensure compliance with this regulation, the noise level at fence should be less than Lsm 70 dBA, and suppose there is a residential area nearby, the contribution from the site should be less than 55 dBA. It is also advisable to measure the existing noise level at the sensitive receivers to make the study more relevant to the situation.
Noise exposure limit is the maximum exposure to noise that the workers get during their working period. In Indonesia, the noise exposure limit is 85 dBA for 8 working hours. To change the working hours, 3 dB exchange rate is used. For example, if the noise level in the plant is 88 dBA, then the workers can only work there for 4 hours, if it is 91 dBA, then the time limit is 2 hours, and so on. To extend the working hours on a noisy area, the options are to actually reduce the noise level by reducing the noise emission from the source or noise control at transmission (for example using barrier), or by usage of Hearing Protection Device (HPD) for the workers such as ear plugs and ear muffs. The noise exposure of workers after usage of HPD can be calculated using the following formula:
Where NRR is the noise reduction rating of the HPD in dB.
Different area might have different noise level limits, and therefore area noise limits are useful. For example, in an unmanned mechanical room, the noise level can be high, for instance 110 dBA. However, inside of the site office, the allowable noise level is much lower, for example 50 dBA. This noise level shall be calculated to ensure compliance with the noise limit. Different companies might have different limits for this to ensure their employees’ health and productivity. If the area is indoor and the noise source is outdoor, then the interior noise level can be estimated using standards such as ISO 12354-3.
The absolute noise limit is the highest noise level allowable at the plant, and shall not be exceeded at any times, including emergency. In most cases, the absolute noise limit for impulsive sound is 140 dBA. To ensure compliance with this requirement, potential high-level noise shall be calculated, for example safety valves.
During emergency, different noise sources than normal situation will be activated, such as flare, blowdown valves, fire pumps, and other equipment. In such cases, the sound from the alarm and Public Address system must be able to be heard by the workers inside of the plant. Normally the target for the SPL from the PAGA system should be higher than 10 dB above the noise level. Therefore, the noise level during emergency in each area should be well-known.
Binaural hearing allows for localizing the source of the sound, suppressing noise, example to better understand speech. To localize sound there is an important aspect of auditory perception that allows us to adjust to the room, namely spatial hearing. There are two processes in localizing sounds in humans, monaural cues and different cues.
Monaural Cues
Monaural cues are how each ear translates the captured sound signal. Monaural cues are the result of a convolution of sound sources with head-related transfer function (HRTF) impulses. Head-Related Transfer Function (HRTFs) is a form of transformation of sound wave propagation from the source to the ear or Head-Related Impulse Response (HRIR). HRTF is also defined as a form of modification of a sound from a certain direction that reaches the ear. This transformation involves diffraction and reflection from the anatomy of the ear. HRTF also depends on the location of the sound source relative to the listener so that it can determine the sound source.
Difference Cues
Difference cues are how the difference between two ears translates to sound signals. These differences cues contain information on International Time Difference (ITD) and Interaural Level Difference (ILD). ITD is the difference in the arrival time of the left and right ear sound waves while ILD is the difference in pressure level between the left and right ears. Based on Duplex Theory, ITD values are used for localizing sounds at low frequencies, which is below 1.5 kHz while ILD is used for localizing sounds at high frequencies, which is above 1.5 kHz. Environmental sounds are in the range of low frequency and high frequency so that the human auditory system uses ITD and ILD.
The basic principles in ITD are illustrated in Figure 1
Figure 1 Interaural Time Difference (ITD) principal
When the sound source is sound waves with low frequency, the propagation of sound waves will reach both ears without decreasing the sound pressure level. This is because the wavelength of sound is smaller than the dimensions of the head. However, there is a time difference received between the two ears. Therefore, sound waves at low frequencies are related to ITD.
The basic principles of ILD are illustrated in Figure 2. The ILD value is influenced by the size of the head and for sources that are very close to the head. When the sound source is in the high-frequency range where the wavelength of the sound is smaller than the dimensions of the head, the sound will reach the ears closer to the sound source. When will reach the other ear, the sound will be held up or there is a failure of propagation of sound waves for a while, this phenomenon is called an acoustic shadow. The sound that finally reaches the other ear will experience a decrease in the level of sound pressure caused by the phenomenon of acoustic shadow.
Figure 2. Acoustic shadow phenomenon at high frequency
Written by:
Adetia Alfadenata
Acoustic Engineer
Geonoise Indonesia
support.id@geonoise.asia
Reference
T. Potisk, “Head-Related Transfer Function,” 2015.
X. Zhong and B. Xie, “Head-Related Transfer Functions and Virtual Auditory Display,” Soundscape Semiot. – Localis. Categ., 2014
W. György, “HRTFs in Human Localization : Measurement , Spectral Evaluation and Practical Use in Virtual Audio Environment,” 2002.
K. Carlsson, “Objective Localisation Measures in Ambisonic Surround- sound,” 2004.
Doctors have used focused ultrasound to destroy tumors in the body without invasive surgery for some time. However, the therapeutic ultrasound used in clinics today indiscriminately damages cancer and healthy cells alike.
Most forms of ultrasound-based therapies either use high-intensity beams to heat and destroy cells or special contrast agents that are injected prior to ultrasound, which can shatter nearby cells. Heat can harm healthy cells as well as cancer cells, and contrast agents only work for a minority of tumors.
Researchers at the California Institute of Technology and City of Hope Beckman Research Institute have developed a low-intensity ultrasound approach that exploits the unique physical and structural properties of tumor cells to target them and provide a more selective, safer option. By scaling down the intensity and carefully tuning the frequency to match the target cells, the group was able to break apart several types of cancer cells without harming healthy blood cells.Their findings, reported in Applied Physics Letters, from AIP Publishing, are a new step in the emerging field called oncotripsy, the singling out and killing of cancer cells based on their physical properties.
Targeted pulsed ultrasound takes advantage of the unique mechanical properties of cancer cells to destroy them while sparing healthy cells.
“This project shows that ultrasound can be used to target cancer cells based on their mechanical properties,” said David Mittelstein, lead author on the paper. “This is an exciting proof of concept for a new kind of cancer therapy that doesn’t require the cancer to have unique molecular markers or to be located separately from healthy cells to be targeted.”
A solid mechanics lab at Caltech first developed the theory of oncotripsy, based on the idea that cells are vulnerable to ultrasound at specific frequencies — like how a trained singer can shatter a wine glass by singing a specific note.
The Caltech team found at certain frequencies, low-intensity ultrasound caused the cellular skeleton of cancer cells to break down, while nearby healthy cells were unscathed.
“Just by tuning the frequency of stimulation, we saw a dramatic difference in how cancer and healthy cells responded,” Mittelstein said. “There are many questions left to investigate about the precise mechanism, but our findings are very encouraging.”The researchers hope their work will inspire others to explore oncotripsy as a treatment that could one day be used alongside chemotherapy, immunotherapy, radiation and surgery. They plan to gain a better understanding of what specifically occurs in a cell impacted by this form of ultrasound.
Just like humans, dogs are sometimes born with impaired hearing or experience hearing loss as a result of disease, inflammation, aging or exposure to noise. Dog owners and K-9 handlers ought to keep this in mind when adopting or caring for dogs, and when bringing them into noisy environments, says Dr. Kari Foss, a veterinary neurologist and professor of veterinary clinical medicine at the University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign.
In a new report in the journal Topics in Companion Animal Medicine, Foss and her colleagues describe cases of hearing loss in three working dogs: a gundog, a sniffer dog and a police dog. One of the three had permanent hearing loss, one responded to treatment and the third did not return to the facility where it was originally diagnosed for follow-up care.
The case studies demonstrate that those who work with police or hunting dogs “should be aware of a dog’s proximity to gunfire and potentially consider hearing protection,” Foss said. Several types of hearing protection for dogs are available commercially.
Just as in humans, loud noises can harm the delicate structures of a dog’s middle and inner ear.
“Most commonly, noise-induced hearing loss results from damage to the hair cells in the cochlea that vibrate in response to sound waves,” Foss said. “However, extreme noise may also damage the eardrum and the small bones within the inner ear, called the ossicles.”
Pet owners or dog handlers tend to notice when an animal stops responding to sounds or commands. However, it is easy to miss the signs, especially in dogs with one or more canine companions, Foss said.
“In puppies with congenital deafness, signs may not be noticed until the puppy is removed from the litter,” she said.
Signs of hearing loss in dogs include failing to respond when called, sleeping through sounds that normally would rouse them, startling at loud noises that previously didn’t bother them, barking excessively or making unusual vocal sounds, Foss said. Dogs with deafness in one ear might respond to commands but could have difficulty locating the source of a sound.
If pet owners think their pet is experiencing hearing loss, they should have the animal assessed by a veterinarian, Foss said. Hearing loss that stems from ear infections, inflammation or polyps in the middle ear can be treated and, in many cases, resolved.
Hearing-impaired or deaf dogs may miss clues about potential threats in their surroundings, Foss said.
“They are vulnerable to undetected dangers such as motor vehicles or predators and therefore should be monitored when outside,” she said.
If the hearing loss is permanent, dog owners can find ways to adapt, Foss said.
“Owners can use eye contact, facial expressions and hand signals to communicate with their pets,” she said. “Treats, toy rewards and affection will keep dogs interested in their training.” Blinking lights can be used to signal a pet to come inside.
Hearing loss does not appear to affect dogs’ quality of life, Foss said.”A dog with congenital hearing loss grows up completely unaware that they are any different from other dogs,” she said. “Dogs that lose their hearing later in life may be more acutely aware of their hearing loss, but they adapt quite well. A dog’s life would be significantly more affected by the loss of smell than by a loss of hearing.”
Rail transport or train transport is one of the main transportation modes these days, both for transferring passengers and goods. Every day people commute to work and back home using trains in a form of subway systems, light rail transits and other types of rail transport. These types of system can create noise both to the passengers inside of the train as well as to the environment. In this article, we will discuss about noise source components that we hear daily both inside and outside of the train.
If we pay attention to the noise when we are on board of a train, there are more than one noise source that we can hear. The main sources for interior noise in a train are turbulent boundary layer, air conditioning noise, engine/auxiliary equipment, rolling noise and aerodynamic noise from bogie, as illustrated in the following figure.
By the way, we wrote and recorded the sound of Jakarta MRT. You can see the link below to help you imagine the train situation better.
Rolling noise is caused by wheel and rail vibrations induced at the wheel/rain contact and is one of the most important components in railway noise. This type of noise depends on both wheel and rail’s roughness. The rougher the surface of both components will create higher noise level both inside and outside of the train. To be able to estimate the airborne component from the rolling noise, we must consider wheel and track characteristics and roughness.
Another noise component that contributes a lot to railway noise is aerodynamic noise which can be caused by more than one sources. These types of sources may contribute differently to internal noise and external noise. For example, aerodynamic noise contributes quite significantly at lower speeds to internal noise while for external noise, it doesn’t contribute as much if the train speed is relatively low. For example, on the report written by Federal Railroad Administration (US Department of Transportation), it is stated that aerodynamic sources start to generate significant noise at speeds of approximately 180 mph (around 290 km/h). Below that speed, only rolling noise and propulsion/machinery noise is taken into consideration for external noise calculation. In addition to external noise, machinery noise also contributes to the interior noise levels. This category includes engines, electric motors, air-conditioning equipment, and so on.
To perform the measurements of railway noise, there are several procedures that are commonly followed. For measurement of train pass-by noise, ISO 3095 Acoustics – Railway applications – measurement of noise emitted by rail bound vehicles,is commonly used. This standard has 3 editions with the first published in 1975, and then modified and approved in 2005 and again in 2013. The commonly used measures for train pass-by are Maximum Level (LAmax), Sound Exposure Level (SEL) and Transit Exposure Level (TEL).
For interior noise, the commonly used test procedure is specified in ISO 3381 Railway applications – Acoustics – Measurement of noise inside rail bound vehicles. This procedure specifies measurements in few different conditions such as measurement on trains with constant speed, accelerating trains from standstill, decelerating vehicles, and stationary vehicles.
Written by:
Hizkia Natanael
Acoustical Design Engineer
Geonoise Indonesia
hizkia@geonoise.asia
Reference:
D. J. Thompson. Railway noise and vibration: mechanisms, modelling and means of control. Elsevier, Amsterdam, 2008
Federal Railroad Administration – U.S. Department of Transportation, High-Speed Ground Transportation Noise and Vibration Impact Assessment. DOT/FRA/ORD-12/15. 2012
Acoustics is not only about sound propagation in the air, but also its propagation in the water. The study of sound propagation and how it behaves in water is called underwater acoustics. Underwater acoustics is a branch of science, and it has become a technology that has been used since World War I. Even before that, in 1490, Leonardo da Vinci has stated his theory in an article “if you stop your ship in the ocean and you put one side of a long tube into the water, then put your ear in the other side, you’ll listen the sound of the ship from great distance.” This indicates that underwater acoustics technology is already known for long time.
In World War II, in military cases, underwater acoustics was used as a communication platform to channel information through the water. In 1925, underwater acoustics was used to measure ocean depth based on sound waves obtained — one of its usability is to find the plane crashed into the bottom of the sea. Time went by and many technologies developed and researches were performed.
One of the applications which can also be used for fisherman is fish-finder navigation tools. These tools can be used for fishers to find schools of fish in the ocean. We can also know the distance and the position of the school of fish from the ship based on the frequency range of the sound propagated.
In the industry, underwater acoustics has been applied to determine the presence of oil and gas in the sea. The method used is quite effective and efficient. In disaster management, early detection of a tsunami from the sea has been developed based on the propagation of infrasound detected from the seabed. In recent years, one technology that has attracted interest in many studies is the Autonomous Underwater Vehicle (AUV). AUV is an unmanned underwater vehicle, where the AUV can identify underwater biology and physics. The use of AUV can be the best choice in identifying the shape conditions of coastal waters because it can be operated in the long run. Besides, the use of AUV can also avoid damage to coral reefs and marine ecosystems.
The necessity for underwater research is quite high, especially for countries with vast oceans, such as Indonesia. Underwater acoustic research is needed in mining operations, observations on coral reefs, offshore oil exploration, and sea accidents.
The speed of a wave is the rate at which vibrations move through the medium. Sound moves at a faster pace in water and with long-distance than in air because the mechanical properties of water differ from the air. We know that the speed of sound wave propagation in the air is between 333 m/s and 340 m/s, the speed of sound waves in water is four times faster than the speed of sound in the air. The speed of sound waves in water ranges from 1500 m/s to 1520 m/s. We know that sound propagation occurs because of the ups and downs of particles in a medium. At sea, the deeper the depth of the sea, the higher the pressure. High-pressure water particles will be compressed so that they continue to propagate the sound without losing much energy. Besides, the density in water is higher than the density in the air. This causes the sound can travel fast and far away in the water. Unfortunately, the speed of sound in seawater is not a constant value. It varies by a small amount (a few percent) from place to place, season to season, morning to evening, and with water depth. Although the variations in the speed of sound are not large, they have important effects on how sound travels in the ocean. However, the temperature in seawater also affects the speed of sound waves, warm water travels faster and farther than colder water.
There are three layers in the sea, based on its temperature, namely mixed water, thermocline, and deep water. In the thermocline, temperature decreases rapidly from the mixed upper layer of the ocean to much colder deep water. In the thermocline, the speed of sound waves decreases with the depth of the sea. In the layer below the thermocline, the temperature becomes constant again, and the pressure increases. In this layer, the speed of the sound waves again increases with the depth of the sea.
Temperature ⇢
As we know, wavelength is inversely proportional to frequency.
As can be seen in the equation above, the lower the frequency the longer the wavelength. Therefore, a 20 Hz sound wave is 75 m long in the water whereas a 20 Hz sound wave in air is only 17 m long in the air. Generally, the sensor used to capture underwater sound is a hydrophone or underwater microphone.
Decibels as a unit of sound pressure is the ratio between the pressure measurement and the reference pressure. Note that the reference pressure in the air with water is different. Therefore, 150 dB of sound in water is not the same as 150 dB of sound in air. In air, the reference pressure is 20μPa while in water the reference pressure is 1μPa. Based on the Sound Pressure Level equation, the conversion value of dB in air to water is
The characteristic impedance of water is about 3600 times that of air then
Therefore, the air to water conversion factor is
For example, if the sound of a jet engine in the air is 135 dB then the water is 197 dB in water.
Written by:
Adetia Alfadenata
Acoustic Engineer
Geonoise Indonesia
support.id@geonoise.asia
Reference:
Urick, Robert J.1983.” Principal of Underwater Sound/3rd Edition”.McGraw-Hill Book Company
Nieukirk, Sharon.” Understandig Ocean Acoustic”.NOAA Ocean explorer Webmaster
Singh H, Roman C, Pizarro O, Eustice R. Advances in High Resolution Imaging from Underwater Vehicles. In: Thrun S, Brooks R, Durrant-Whyte H, editors. Robotics Research. vol. 28 of Springer Tracts in Advanced Robotics. Springer Berlin Heidelberg; 2007. p. 430–448
