Measurement of sound field and intelligibility of speech in snow

• Project/Area Number: 23651182
• Research Category: Grant-in-Aid for Challenging Exploratory Research
• Allocation Type: Multi-year Fund
• Research Field: Natural disaster science
• Research Institution: Health Sciences University of Hokkaido
• Principal Investigator: SAKAKIBARA Ken-ichi 北海道医療大学, 心理科学部, 准教授 (80396168)
• Co-Investigator(Kenkyū-buntansha): AMANO Shigeaki 愛知淑徳大学, 人間情報学部, 教授 (90396119) ; YAMAKAWA Kimiko 愛知淑徳大学, 人間情報学部, 助教 (80455196) ; MAKI Katuhiro 愛知淑徳大学, 人間情報学部, 准教授 (50447033)
• Project Period (FY): 2011 – 2012
• Project Status: Completed (Fiscal Year 2012)
• Budget Amount: ¥3,900,000 (Direct Cost: ¥3,000,000、Indirect Cost: ¥900,000); Fiscal Year 2012: ¥1,040,000 (Direct Cost: ¥800,000、Indirect Cost: ¥240,000); Fiscal Year 2011: ¥2,860,000 (Direct Cost: ¥2,200,000、Indirect Cost: ¥660,000)
• Keywords: 雪氷災害 / 音声 / 明瞭度 / 音場 / 積雪音響測定 / 雪崩救助 / 音声明瞭度

Research Abstract

In this research project, acoustic characteristic of sound insulation of two different snow packs: (1) a natural snow pack; and (2) a compressed snow pack by stomping, were measured. Acoustic characteristics of a compressed snow pack directly vibrated by stomping on surface and sticking with ski poles were also measured. In the case of a natural snow pack, the relative power of a high-frequency range was attenuated more than that of a lower-frequency range, and in the case of a compressed snow pack, the relative power was uniformly attenuated across a wide frequency range. In a compressed snow, attenuation reached to more than 40 dB uniformly in all frequency domains. On the other hands, in a method directly vibrating a snow pack, such as ski-pole sticking and stomping, sound pressure level measured at 30 cm depth was about 20 dB greater than the MAF (minimum audible field) across a wide frequency domain. Furthermore, even if a vibrating point was 1 m far from the position of a microphone in a horizontal direction, sound pressure level at 60 cm was 10 dB greater than the MAF at 1000Hz. The results suggest that sticking with ski poles is effective to send sounds to a burial, and much better than voice call.

Research Products

• [Journal Article] What can avalanche burials hear? - acoustic characteristics of snow packs and their relation to input sounds (2012)
  • Author(s): Ken-Ichi Sakakibara, Katuhiro Maki, Kimiko Yamakawa, and Shigeaki Amano
  • Journal Title: Proceedings of International Snow Science Workshop Pages: 1011-1016
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Journal Article] What can avalanche burials hear? --acoustic characteristics of snow and their relation to input sounds (2012)
  • Author(s): Ken-Ichi Sakakibara
  • Journal Title: Proceedings of International Snow Science Workshop Volume: -
  • Peer Reviewed
• [Presentation] 雪中への音の伝搬特性 (2012)
  • Author(s): 牧 勝弘, 山川 仁子, 天野 成昭, 榊原健一
  • Organizer: 日本音響学会 2012 年度秋季研究発表会
  • Place of Presentation: 長野
  • Year and Date: 2012-09-20
• [Presentation] What can avalanche burials hear? - acoustic characteristics of snow packs and their relation to input sounds (2012)
  • Author(s): Ken-Ichi Sakakibara, Katuhiro Maki, Kimiko Yamakawa, and Shigeaki Amano
  • Organizer: Proceedings of International Snow Science Workshop
  • Place of Presentation: Anchorage, USA
• [Presentation] 雪中への音の伝搬特性 (2012)
  • Author(s): 牧勝弘
  • Organizer: 日本音響学会2012年秋季研究発表会
  • Place of Presentation: 信州大学
• [Remarks] ホームページ
  • URL: http://www.hoku-iryo-u.ac.jp/~kis/kis.html