Item: What Can Avalanche Burials Hear? Acoustic Characteristics of Snow Packs and Their Relation to Input Sounds
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Title: What Can Avalanche Burials Hear? Acoustic Characteristics of Snow Packs and Their Relation to Input Sounds
Proceedings: Proceedings, 2012 International Snow Science Workshop, Anchorage, Alaska
Authors:
- Ken-Ichi Sakakibara [ Health Sciences University of Hokkaido, Japan ]
- Katuhiro Maki [ Aichi Shukutoku University, Japan ]
- Kimiko Yamakawa [ Aichi Shukutoku University, Japan ]
- Shigeaki Amano [ Aichi Shukutoku University, Japan ]
Date: 2012
Abstract: In this paper, acoustic characteristic of sound insulation of two different snow packs: (1) a natural snow pack; and (2) a compressed snow by stomping, were measured. Acoustic characteristics of a compressed snow pack directly vibrated by stomping on surface and sticking with ski poles were also measured. As a result, a natural snow pack shows varied insulation characteristics depending on its inner snow layer structure. In a less dense layer, high-frequency domain was insulated more than lower-frequency domain, and in a dense layer, all frequency domain was uniformally insulated. In a compressed snow, insulation reached to more than 40 dB uniformally in all frequency domain. On the other hands, in a method directly vibrating a snow pack, such as ski-pole sticking and stomping, sound pressure level measured at 30 cm depth was about 20 dB greater than the MAF (minimum audible field) in wide frequency domain. Furthermore, even if a vibrating point was horizontally 1m far from the position of a microphone, sound pressure level at 60 cm was 10 dB greater than the MAF at 1000 Hz. The results suggest that sticking with ski poles is effective to send sounds to a burial, and much better than voice call.
Object ID: issw-2012-1011-1016.pdf
Language of Article: English
Presenter(s): unknown
Keywords: acoustics, snow pack, ski poles, snow burial
Page Number(s): 1011-1016
Subjects: avalanche burials snow pack acoustic analysis
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