Modeling Microseism Generation by Inhomogeneous Ocean Surface Waves in Hurricane Bonnie Using the Non-Linear Wave Equation

Abstract

It has been shown that hurricanes generate seismic noise, called microseisms, through the creation and non-linear interaction of ocean surface waves. Here we model microseisms generated by the spatially inhomogeneous waves of a hurricane using the non-linear wave equation where a second-order acoustic field is created by first-order ocean surface wave motion. We treat range-dependent waveguide environments to account for microseisms that propagate from the deep ocean to a receiver on land. We compare estimates based on the ocean surface wave field measured in hurricane Bonnie in 1998 with seismic measurements made roughly 1000 km away in Florida.

Keywords

• hurricane
• microseism
• non-linear wave equation