Booming sand dunes: field measurements
نویسندگان
چکیده
Booming dunes” are large desert sand dunes that make a loud droning or humming noise during an avalanching of sand. The phenomenon has been observed for censturies, yet it remains largely unexplained. This note demonstrates that the booming frequency does not scale with the size of the particle or with the shearing speed of the avalanching sand. Instead, the dune may act as a waveguide with a fundamental frequency that depends on the sound speed within the dune and the depth of the loose dry sand layer. PACS numbers: Valid PACS appear here Department of Geological and Planetary Sciences, M/C 100-23; Electronic address: [email protected] Department of Mechanical Engineering, M/C 104-44
منابع مشابه
Solving the mystery of booming sand dunes
[1] Desert booming can be heard after a natural slumping event or during a sand avalanche generated by humans sliding down the slip face of a large dune. The sound is remarkable because it is composed of one dominant audible frequency (70 to 105 Hz) plus several higher harmonics. This study challenges earlier reports that the dunes’ frequency is a function of average grain size by demonstrating...
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Linear and nonlinear wave propagation in booming sand dunes N. M. Vriend,1,a) M. L. Hunt,2 and R. W. Clayton3 1Department of Applied Mathematics and Theoretical Physics, University of Cambridge, Cambridge CB3 0WA, United Kingdom 2Division of Engineering and Applied Science, California Institute of Technology, Pasadena, California 91125, USA 3Division of Geological and Planetary Sciences, Califo...
متن کاملComment on ‘ ‘ Solving the mystery of booming sand dunes ’ ’ by Nathalie
[1] We show here that the standard physical model used by Vriend et al. [2007] to analyse seismograph data, namely a non-dispersive bulk propagation, does not apply to the surface layer of sand dunes. According to several experimental, theoretical and field results, the only possible propagation of sound waves in a dry sand bed under gravity is through an infinite, yet discrete, number of dispe...
متن کاملComment on “Solving the mystery of booming sand dunes”
We show here that the standard physical model used by Vriend et al. to analyse seismograph data, namely a nondispersive bulk propagation, does not apply to the surface layer of sand dunes. According to several experimental, theoretical and field results, the only possible propagation of sound waves in a dry sand bed under gravity is through an infinite, yet discrete, number of dispersive surfac...
متن کاملBooming Sand Dunes
Booming” sand dunes have a remarkable capacity to produce sounds that are comparable with those from a stringed instrument. This phenomenon, in which sound is generated after an avalanching of sand along the slip face of a dune, has been known for centuries and occurs in at least 40 sites around the world. A spectral analysis of the sound shows a dominant frequency between 70 and 110 Hz, as wel...
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