Speaker:
Prof. Melany Hunt
Dept. Mechanical Engineering, Caltech
Abstract:
In the southwestern United States and at approximately 40 locations around
the world, large sand dunes can generate a loud booming sound during a
natural or induced avalanche. The sound builds over time to a single
frequency varying from 75 to 105 Hz plus harmonics depending on the
dune location and time of the year. This talk will outline the
historical references to this phenomenon, as well as our field work
involving seismic refraction, ground penetrating radar and sand
sampling. In addition, the talk will describe some of our related work
on flows of granular materials.
Reading:
Hunt & Vriend, 2010
