A method for the production of acoustic forecasts using a digital computer

Acoustic forecasts are provided by three upper-air stations in the United Kingdom for the prediction of the propagation of noise from gunfire and other surface detonations. In the near future the stations will be equipped with the new United Kingdom Mk 3 radiosonde system. In addition to the new radiosonde and new receiving and recording devices, each upper-air station will have a minicomputer. The computer is used during a radiosonde ascent to sample the coded data that are transmitted by the radiosonde, to apply quality control and calibration corrections to the data, to decode them, and to select from them the significant temperature and humidity values. The computer interrogates a radar and uses the sets of azimuth, elevation, and slant range obtained to derive a wind profile for the ascent. Attention is given to the production of sound foci, the model which is used in the calculation of acoustic forecasting data, and a number of model refinements.