Sabine von Hünerbein
Lecturer
Contact details
Email: S.vonHunerbein@salford.ac.uk
Telephone: 0161 295 4424
Location: 115 Newton Building
Profile
Sabine's research interests are in the area of developing and applying the atmospheric acoustic remote sensing instrument "SODAR" in the fields of meteorology and outdoor sound propagation. These measurements can be applied to urban air quality studies, outdoor noise control modelling, wind farm siting and monitoring, and air traffic control.
Recent activities include:
UpWind and Wind energy Sodar Evaluation (WISE)
As Wind Power is one of the fastest growing industries in the UK suitable siting of wind farms has become a crucial issue for success. Both UpWind and its predecessor WISE aim to introduce remote sensing wind measurement techniques as a standard for tomorrows large turbines and remote sites. These are European initiatives with scientists and companies from all over Europe participating. The Salford Acoustics Audio and Video group contributes its know-how on acoustic Radar (SODAR) design and data analysis to the projects.
Aircraft wave vortices
The project demonstrates that linear arrays of SODARs can detect and monitor aircraft wake vortices, a phenomenon that is a major security hazard during take-off and landing and endangers not only the travellers but also the urban areas in the vicinity of airports. The ultimate aim of the project is to provide guidance to air traffic controllers.
Distributed acoustic array for Antarctic research
SODAR array design and data analysis commissioned by the British Antarctic Survey for application in air quality research.
Sound speed profile structure and variability and the influence of meteorology on outdoor sound propagation
Outdoor sound propagation models are a means to successfully monitor and control environmental noise. To assess some of these models, outdoor sound propagation experiments in homogeneous and complex terrain were planned and conducted to quantify the influence of wind, temperature, and turbulence profiles on sound propagation for source detection and concealment. Within the framework of these experiments Sabine was involved in wind and temperature profiling using SODAR, RASS and balloon instrumentation.
The inverse problem in outdoor sound propagation
Inverse mathematical methods were used to improve SODAR data analysis.
Urban meteorological measurements, SALFEX
Outdoor measurements were conducted in collaboration with the Universities of Reading and Manchester to answer the following questions: How does urban roughness affect the development of an urban boundary layer? How strong is the coupling between flow at street level and the boundary layer above? How will this coupling affect ventilation of pollutants from streets and hence air quality?
LIDAR - SODAR intercomparison experiments
The wind measurements of a phased-array SODAR and a newly designed infra-red Doppler LIDAR were compared.
Teaching
Sabine teaches Audio Systems and Level 1 Mathematics as well as Level 2 Electroacoustics and Broadcast Systems on the Acoustics related degree programmes.