 EPOD - a service of USRA

The Earth Science Picture of the Day (EPOD) highlights the diverse processes
and phenomena which shape our planet and our lives. EPOD will collect and
archive photos, imagery, graphics, and artwork with short explanatory
captions and links exemplifying features within the Earth system. The
community is invited to contribute digital imagery, short captions and
relevant links.


 Refraction of Sound Waves

   October 19, 2020

    Dungeness Field Joe LaCour

   Photographer:  Joe LaCour
   Summary Author:  Joe LaCour

   The field next to our property in  Dungeness, Washington provides an
   example of the  refraction of sound waves. When the wind is calm,
   and the sun has heated the air close to the ground higher than the air
   above the ground, the  sound travels faster close to the surface and
   slower above the surface. With this  temperature gradient sound is
   curved upward, and the vehicles traveling on the road can hardly be
   heard.  But when there’s no temperature gradient because of a thick
   overcast or it’s windy, the road noise is very loud. The inverse
   example is the  noise from jet aircraft on  Whidbey Island being
   heard on the  Olympic Peninsula. When the cold water in the
    Strait of Juan de Fuca has cooled the air close to the surface to a
   lower temperature than the air above the surface, sound is curved
   downward and the concentrated sound travels along the surface. Thus the
   sound can be very loud quite a distance away.

   Photo Details: Camera: Leica M9; Lens: Summicron 35mm; Exposure Time:
   0.0028s (1/360); Aperture: ƒ/8.0; ISO equivalent: 60; Focal Length
   (35mm): 5.
     * Dungeness, Washington Coordinates:  48.14406, -123.11791

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Applied Sciences Links

     *  BBC: World Water Crisis
     *  Indoor Air Quality
     *  Mathematics in Nature
     *  A Mathematical Nature Walk
     *  NASA: Applied Earth Sciences
     *  Remote Sensing Tutorial

-
   Earth Science Picture of the Day is a service of the  Universities
   Space Research Association.

https://epod.usra.edu
 
