Examining wind noise reduction effects of windscreens and microphone elevation in outdoor acoustical measurements

Jones et al. [J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 146, 2912 (2019)] compared an elevated (1.5 m) acoustical measurement configuration that used a standard commercial windscreen for outdoor measurements with a ground-based configuration with a custom windscreen. That study showed that the ground-based measurement method yielded superior wind noise rejection, presumably due to the larger windscreen and lower wind speeds experienced near the ground. This study further examines those findings by attempting to decouple the effects of windscreens and microphone elevation using measurements at 1.5 m and near the ground with and without windscreens. Simultaneous wind speed measurements at 1.5 m and near the ground were also made for correlation purposes. Results show that the insertion of the custom windscreen reduces wind noise more than placing the microphone near the ground, and that the ground-based setup is again preferable for obtaining broadband outdoor acoustic measurements.