The effect of atmospheric conditions on sound propagation and its impact on the outdoor sound field control

The performance of active sound field control solutions is directly dependent on the knowledge of the acoustic transfer functions between the control loudspeakers and control areas. Outdoors, the propagation of sound and thus these transfer functions are affected by atmospheric conditions and their variation.

In this work we experimentally investigate the effect of wind and temperature changes on transfer functions. We present the results of a measurement campaign, where transfer functions and weather data were gathered every 30 minutes for a time period of a week. The results show the impact of wind (up to 8 m/s) and temperature (−2◦C to 6◦C) variations on the sound propagation over distances of around 300 m.

We discuss the results in relation to the outdoor control of sound.