Tornadic infrasound

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Tornadic infrasound is the study of infrasound produced by tornadoes, which has been measured between 0.5-6 Hertz.

History

In May 2024, Doctor Bin Liang with the University of Mississippi published a paper on the results of a field research project on tornadoes. During the project, Liang was able to determine "that tornadoes emit dominant low-frequency infrasound between 0.5−1.2 Hertz", after examining tornadic and non-tornadic supercells. [1]

In September 2024, researchers from the National Center for Physical Acoustics, a research center at the University of Mississippi, and Benchtop Engineering LLC, published a paper confirming tornadoes emit measurable infrasound between 2−6 Hertz. [2]

In July 2025, the United States Senate Committee on Appropriations, amid negotiations for the 2026 United States federal budget, encouraged the Office of Oceanic and Atmospheric Research (OAR), a branch of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), "to pursue research on near real-time infrasonic monitoring of tornadoes". They stated that "advanced infrasound signal processing methodologies and studies, deployed through a network of infrasound arrays to detect tornadoes, have the potential to provide accurate and reliable locations and warnings of active tornadoes". [3]

References

  1. ↑ Liang, Bin (May 2024). "Infrasound from Tornadoes: Theory and Experiment". The University of Mississippi ProQuest Dissertations & Theses. 2024 (31236883). University of Mississippi: 1–121. Bibcode:2024PhDT........17L. ProQuest   3074972855 . Retrieved 29 July 2024.
  2. ↑ Waxler, Roger; Frazier, Wm. Garth; Talmadge, Carrick L.; Liang, Bin; Hetzer, Claus; Buchanan, Hank; Audette, William E. (1 September 2024). "Analysis of infrasound array data from tornadic storms in the southeastern United States". Journal of the Acoustical Society of America . 156 (3). Acoustical Society of America: 1903–1919. doi:10.1121/10.0028815 . Retrieved 20 July 2025.
  3. ↑ United States Senate Committee on Appropriations (17 July 2025). "DEPARTMENTS OF COMMERCE AND JUSTICE, SCIENCE, AND RELATED AGENCIES APPROPRIATIONS BILL, 2026" (PDF). Dirksen Senate Office Building: 119th United States Congress . Retrieved 19 July 2025.