S41A-4435:
Characteristic Surface Processes Between Atmosphere, Cryosphere and Oceanic Environment Inferred from Infrasound Array Observations in Lützow-Holm Bay, East Antarctica

Thursday, 18 December 2014
Yoshiaki Ishihara1, Masaki Kanao2, Masa-yuki Yamamoto3, Yoshihiro Kakinami3, Takahiro Murayama4, Kazumi Okada5, Shigeru Toda6 and Takeshi Matsushima7, (1)Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency, Kanagawa, Japan, (2)Natl Inst Polar Research, Tokyo, Japan, (3)Kochi University of Technology, Kami, Kochi, Japan, (4)Japan Weather Association, Tokyo, Japan, (5)Institute of Seismology and Volcanology, Hokkaido University, Sapporo, Japan, (6)Aichi University of Education, Aichi, Japan, (7)Kyushu University, Fukuoka, Japan
Abstract:
Infrasound is sub-audible sound whose frequency range is about 3 mHz to 20 Hz. Because this frequency is common between atmospheric, oceanic and solid earth vibrations, those waves are interacting with each other and interaction itself generates infrasound. At polar region, cryosphere also play an important role for generation and propagation of infrasound.

The Japanese Antarctic infrasound observation started at April 2008. A sensor was installed at Syowa Station (SYO) in Lützow-Holm Bay (LHB) of East Antarctica, as a part of the International Polar Year. Characteristic infrasound waves observed at SYO demonstrate physical interaction involving environmental changes in the Antarctic region. Continuous recordings of infrasound clearly indicate existence of the hums generated by ocean-atmosphere interaction (microbaroms) with peaks of 0.1 to 0.25 Hz. Because larger amount of sea-ice extending around the LHB near SYO suppress ocean wave, the microbaroms become weak during austral winter. Following success of pilot observation, in austral summer in 2013, we extended one-sensor observation at SYO to 3-sensor arrayed observations, and installed a few field stations along the coast of the LHB. Newly established SYO array clearly detected the propagating directions and frequency contents of the microbaroms from Southern Ocean. In addition, we found harmonic signals around lowermost human audible band, however, currently unclear how and what generating hamonic signals. Those signals are recorded under windy condition. Since our system has no mechanical resonance at those frequency ranges, we speculate that the characteristic harmonic signals are probably related to local surficial phenomena such as ice sheet vibration generated by katabatic winds.

Infrasound measurement at Antarctica could be a new proxy for monitoring a regional environmental change in high southern latitude. In such point of view, we will continue and improve the observations at and around SYO, Antarctica.

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