Incorporating numerical modeling into estimates of the detection capability of the IMS infrasound network

Abstract

To monitor compliance with the Comprehensive Nuclear-Test ban Treaty (CTBT), a dedicated International Monitoring System (IMS) is being deployed. Recent global scale observations recorded by this network confirm that its detection capability is highly variable in space and time. Previous studies estimated the radiated source energy from remote observations using empirical yield-scaling relations which account for the along-path stratospheric winds. Although the empirical wind correction reduces the variance in the explosive energy versus pressure relationship, strong variability remains in the yield estimate. Today, numerical modeling techniques provide a basis to better understand the role of different factors describing the source and the atmosphere that influence propagation predictions. In this study, the effects of the source frequency and the stratospheric wind speed are simulated. In order to characterize fine-scale atmospheric structures which are excluded from the current atmospheric specifications, model predictions are further enhanced by the addition of perturbation terms. A theoretical attenuation relation is thus developed from massive numerical simulations using the Parabolic Equation method. Compared with previous studies, our approach provides a more realistic physical description of long-range infrasound propagation. We obtain a new relation combining a near-field and a far-field term, which account for the effects of both geometrical spreading and absorption. In the context of the future verification of the CTBT, the derived attenuation relation quantifies the spatial and temporal variability of the IMS infrasound network performance in higher resolution, and will be helpful for the design and prioritizing maintenance of any arbitrary infrasound monitoring network. Copyright 2012 by the American Geophysical Union.