Data from: Upper atmosphere heating from ocean-generated acoustic wave energy

Colliding sea surface waves generate the ocean microbarom, an acoustic signal that may transmit significant energy to the upper atmosphere. Previous estimates of acoustic energy flux from the ocean microbarom and mountain/wind interactions are on the order of 0.01 to 1 mW/m2, heating the thermosphere by tens of degrees Kelvin per day. We captured up going ocean microbarom waves with a balloon borne infrasound microphone; the maximum acoustic energy flux was approximately 0.05 mW/m2. This is about half the average value reported in previous ground-based microbarom observations spanning eight years. The acoustic flux from the microbarom episode described here may have heated the thermosphere by several degrees Kelvin per day while the source persisted. We suggest that ocean wave models could be used to parameterize acoustically-generated heating of the upper atmosphere based on sea state.

碰撞的海面波浪会产生海洋微气压波（ocean microbarom），这是一类可将可观能量传输至高层大气的声学信号。此前针对海洋微气压波与山地、风场相互作用产生的声能通量的估算值约为0.01至1毫瓦每平方米（mW/m²），可使热层（thermosphere）每日升温数十开尔文。本研究通过搭载于气球的次声麦克风（infrasound microphone）捕捉到上行的海洋微气压波信号，其最大声能通量约为0.05毫瓦每平方米。该值约为此前为期八年的地面微气压波观测报告中平均通量的一半。在本次研究描述的微气压波事件持续期间，其产生的声能通量或可使热层每日升温数开尔文。本研究提出，可基于海况利用海浪模型对高层大气的声学加热效应进行参数化表征。