Measurements of Blast Noise Propagation Over Water at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland.

Abstract : Loud noises produced by Army training can cause public annoyance and alarm in neighboring communities. For this reason, it is important to accurately predict noise levels at great distances over different types of terrain and in different atmospheric conditions. However, the propagation of blast noise over large distances is not well understood, partly because the types and sizes of explosions produced on Army training ranges are unique; few data sources are available. This study was part of a larger effort to systematically collect noise level and atmospheric data over a variety of terrains, coincident with Army-type explosions. Such data will supplement existing blast noise data bases to provide a sufficient range of experimental conditions to test future blast noise propagation models. This report contains blast data received over water, in a range of atmospheric conditions. During the experiment, the atmosphere was periodically tested to determine speed-of-sound profiles of blast propagation along the nine-microphone array. Blast signals were processed to obtain peak-level, flat-weighted, and C-weighted sound exposure levels for each event and for each microphone. (MM)