The infrasound field, the science of low-frequency acoustic waves, has developed into a broad interdisciplinary field encompassing academic disciplines of geophysics and recent technical and scientific developments. The infrasound network of the International Monitoring Network (IMS) for nuclear test ban verification and regional cluster arrays deployed around the globe have demonstrated their capacity for detecting and locating most of the disturbances in the atmosphere. Infrasound is capable of traveling up to thermospheric altitudes and over enormous ranges, where its propagation is controlled by the wind and temperature structure. Recent studies point out new insights on quantitative relationships between observables and atmospheric characteristics, and therefore opening a new field for atmospheric remote sensing.

New studies using lidar and mesospheric airglow observations complemented by satellite measurements help to better determine the interaction between atmospheric layers from the ground to the mesosphere and the influence of large scale waves on the atmospheric dynamics. The ARISE design study project, funded by the European Commission, coordinates such studies. It proposes to design a novel infrastructure that integrates different atmospheric observation networks to infer a new 3D image of the atmosphere from the ground to mesosphere. In a higher frequency range, this monitoring system also offers a unique opportunity to provide in near-real time continuous relevant information about natural hazards with high societal benefits, like large volcanic eruptions, surface earthquakes or meteorites.

We invite contributions on current studies on sensors, characterization of different sources and large scale atmospheric phenomena, characterization of phenomena which affect acoustic propagation, utilization of acoustic waves to probe the atmosphere, contribution of gravity and planetary waves to the atmospheric dynamics and the coupling of atmospheric layers. In the session, we will also consider the role that infrasound and acoustic-gravity waves play in the coupled Earth’s crust – ocean – atmosphere system and, in particular, in ionospheric manifestations of physical processes in the ocean and in the solid Earth.