L. Ding et Dm. Farmer, ON THE DIPOLE ACOUSTIC SOURCE LEVEL OF BREAKING WAVES, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 96(5), 1994, pp. 3036-3044
Wave breaking is believed to be the primary physical mechanism for gen
eration of ambient noise. Yet previous measurements of ambient noise h
ave been based on averaged results of noise sources randomly distribut
ed in space and related primarily to wind speed. Recent progress in di
rect measurement of breaking waves has made it possible to examine the
sound radiated from individual sources and relate it to breaking wave
parameters. Here we present field observations of dipole acoustic sou
rce levels of breaking waves obtained during the surface wave processe
s program. The acoustic source level is related to measured breaking w
ave speed, which is believed to be an important parameter relevant to
wave energy dissipation. It is found that the source level has a much
better correlation with the breaking wave speed than with the wind spe
ed. The data also indicate that the acoustic source level can be model
ed as an exponential distribution. These results are explained using l
aboratory observations of acoustic radiation and wave energy dissipati
on due to breaking.