Measurement of acoustic attenuation in South Pole ice

• Published in: Astroparticle Physics
• Main Authors: Abbasi, R., Abdou, Y., Abu-Zayyad, T., Adams, J., Aguilar, J.A., Ahlers, M., Andeen, K., Auffenberg, J., Bai, X., Baker, Mark D., Barwick, S.W., Bay, R., Bazo Alba, J.L., Beattie, K., Beatty, J.J., Bechet, S., Becker, J.K., Becker, K.-H., Benabderrahmane, M.L., Berdermann, J., Berghaus, P., Berley, D., Bernardini, E., Bertrand, D., Besson, D.Z., Bissok, M., Blaufuss, E., Boersma, D.J., Bohm, C., Böser, S., Botner, O., Bradley, L., Braun, J., Buitink, S., Carson, M., Chirkin, D., Christy, B., Clem, J., Clevermann, F., Cohen, S., Colnard, C., Cowen, D.F., D'Agostino, M.V., Danninger, M., De Clercq, C., Demirörs, L., Depaepe, O., Descamps, F., Desiati, P., De Vries-Uiterweerd, G.
• Other Authors: Dept. of Physics, University of Wisconsin-Madison, Dept. of Subatomic and Radiation Physics, University of Gent, Department of Physics and Astronomy Tuscaloosa), University of Alabama Tuscaloosa (UA), University of Oxford Oxford, University of Wuppertal, University of Delaware Newark, Department of Physics and Astronomy Irvine, University of California Irvine (UCI), University of California-University of California, University of California, Ohio State University Columbus (OSU), Dept. of Astronomy, Science Faculty CP230, Université libre de Bruxelles (ULB), University of Maryland College Park, University of Maryland System-University of Maryland System, Dept. of Physics and Astronomy, University of Kansas Lawrence (KU), Rheinisch-Westfälische Technische Hochschule Aachen (RWTH), Stockholm University, Rheinische Friedrich-Wilhelms-Universität Bonn, Department of Physics and Astronomy Uppsala, Uppsala University, University Park, Technische Universität Dortmund Dortmund (TU), École Polytechnique Fédérale, Max-Planck-Institut für Kernphysik (MPIK), Max-Planck-Gesellschaft, Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics PennState, Pennsylvania State University (Penn State), Penn State System-Penn State System, Vrije Universiteit Brussel (VUB), Department of Physics and Astronomy Utrecht, Utrecht University Utrecht, Southern University, Humboldt-Universität zu Berlin, Department of Physics Edmonton, University of Alberta, University of Mainz, Johannes Gutenberg - Universität Mainz (JGU), Department of Physics and Astronomy Christchurch (DPA), University of Canterbury Christchurch, Université de Mons (UMons), Chiba University, University of Alaska Anchorage, University of the West Indies, Georgia Institute of Technology Atlanta
• Format: Article in Journal/Newspaper
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2010
• Subjects: neutrino astronomy; acoustics; South Pole; acoustic attenuation; ice; [PHYS.ASTR.CO]Physics [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO]; [SDU.ASTR.CO]Sciences of the Universe [physics]/Astrophysics [astro-ph]/Cosmology and Extra-Galactic Astrophysics [astro-ph.CO]; South pole
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00710482; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00710482/document; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/hal-00710482/file/PEER_stage2_10.1016%252Fj.astropartphys.2010.10.003.pdf; https://doi.org/10.1016/j.astropartphys.2010.10.003

International audience Using the South Pole Acoustic Test Setup (SPATS) and a retrievable transmitter deployed in holes drilled for the IceCube experiment, we have measured the attenuation of acoustic signals by South Pole ice at depths between 190 m and 500 m. Three data sets, using different acoustic sources, have been analyzed and give consistent results. The method with the smallest systematic uncertainties yields an amplitude attenuation coefficient α=3.20 ± 0.57 km between 10 and 30 kHz, considerably larger than previous theoretical estimates. Expressed as an attenuation length, the analyses give a consistent result for λ ≡1/α of ∼300 m with 20% uncertainty. No significant depth or frequency dependence has been found.