Low and High Broadband Spectral Models of Atmospheric Pressure Fluctuation

Abstract

This paper presents new low and high power spectral density models for pressure fluctuations at the Earth’s surface over the frequency range of (10−5 – 8) Hz. Previously proposed models often included limitations, such as a much narrower frequency range, the inclusion of erroneous and non-calibrated data or recorded data not deconvolved from the measurement system responses. The progress recently made with response modeling and field calibration of pressure fluctuation measurement systems now allows to propose more realistic power spectral density models over an extremely large frequency band. This paper describes how the data were selected, processed, and analyzed to obtain the final global models. In addition, the intermediate results allow the characterization of several atmospheric mechanisms, such as gravity wave saturation, limits of the buoyancy and acoustic cut-off frequencies or wind turbulence modes. The two proposed low and high power spectral density models are planned to be used for a wide range of applications, including assessing the quality of measured pressure fluctuations, verifying the validity of modeled pressure fluctuations and supporting the design, testing and calibration of a new generation of measurement systems. The models presented in this paper are made available to the scientific community.