Measurements of ambient noise and sperm whale vocalizations in the northern Gulf of Mexico using near bottom hydrophones

Newcomb, J.; Fisher, Robert A.; Field, Robert L.; Rayborn, Grayson H.; Kuczaj, Stan A.; Ioup, George E.; Ioup, Juliette W.; Turgut, Altan

doi:10.1109/oceans.2002.1191837

Cited by 8 publications

(7 citation statements)

References 12 publications

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“…4 and 7). A similar trend was observed in a separate study in 2001 when sound pressure spectrum levels $40 Hz decreased during the passage of tropical storm Barry and rebounded one week later presumably caused by changes in shipping and seismic exploration during and after the storm (Newcomb et al, 2002).…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

“…At the lowest frequencies, these high levels are similar to sites with exposure to heavy commercial shipping, both distant and local (Andrew et al, 2002;Chapman and Price, 2011), and at the higher frequencies variability was associated with local wind. Also, for approximately 1 month in 2001 in the northern GOM, Newcomb et al (2002) recorded similar sound pressure spectrum levels using similar equipment to Snyder (2007), although at shallower depths on the continental slope at 600-1000 m. Their results a) Electronic mail: swiggins@ucsd.edu included sound pressure spectrum levels from periods before, during, and after the passage of tropical storm Barry, which showed variability associated with wind and sea state at frequencies above 200 Hz, and ships and seismic exploration below 100 Hz. While these studies are important as apparently the only ones for documenting ambient noise sound levels in the GOM, measurements from other locations throughout the Gulf are needed for comparison and to provide a more complete picture of the GOM soundscape.…”

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confidence: 99%

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Gulf of Mexico low-frequency ocean soundscape impacted by airguns

Wiggins

Hall²,

Thayre

et al. 2016

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

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The ocean soundscape of the Gulf of Mexico (GOM) has not been well-studied, although it is an important habitat for marine mammals, including sperm and beaked whales, many dolphin species, and a potentially endangered baleen whale species. The GOM is also home to high levels of hydrocarbon exploration and extraction, heavily used commercial shipping ports, and significant fishery industry activity, all of which are known contributors to oceanic noise. From 2010–2013, the soundscape of three deep and two shallow water sites in the GOM were monitored over 10 – 1000 Hz. Average sound pressure spectrum levels were high, >90 dB re 1 μPa2/Hz at <40 Hz for the deep water sites and were associated with noise from seismic exploration airguns. More moderate sound pressure levels, <55 dB re 1 μPa2/Hz at >700 Hz, were present at a shallow water site in the northeastern Gulf, removed from the zone of industrial development and bathymetrically shielded from deep water anthropogenic sound sources. During passage of a high wind event (Hurricane Isaac, 2012), sound pressure levels above 200 Hz increased with wind speed, but at low frequencies (<100 Hz) sound pressure levels decreased owing to absence of noise from airguns.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 83%

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Gulf of Mexico low-frequency ocean soundscape impacted by airguns

Wiggins

Hall²,

Thayre

et al. 2016

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

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“…LADC, which was founded in 2001, currently is a consortium of scientists from three universities ͑the University of New Orleans, the University of Southern Mississippi, and the University of Louisiana at Lafayette͒ and the Naval Research Laboratory at Stennis Space Center. Since 2001, LADC has conducted or participated in eight experiments in the Northern GoM and the Mediterranean Sea to study natural and anthropogenic noise in marine environments and the potential impact on marine mammals ͑Newcomb et al., 2002a, 2002bNewcomb et al, 2005;Sidorovskaia et al, 2006; In the second part of the paper, we present the results of quantitative modeling of measured absolute pressures by using enhanced modeling techniques based on the standard underwater acoustic propagation model ͓the range dependent acoustic model ͑RAM͔͒.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Three-dimensional seismic array characterization study: Experiment and modeling

Tashmukhambetov

Ioup

et al. 2008

The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

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In the summer of 2003, the Littoral Acoustic Demonstration Center conducted an acoustic characterization experiment for a 21-element marine seismic exploration airgun array of total volume of 0.0588 m 3 ͑3590 in. 3 ͒. Two Environmental Acoustic Recording System buoys, one with a desensitized hydrophone, were deployed at a depth of 758 m in a water depth of 990 m, near Green's Canyon in the Gulf of Mexico. Shots over a grid were recorded and calibrated to produce absolute broadband ͑up to 25 kHz͒ pressure-time dependencies for a wide range of offsets and arrival angles in the water column. Experimental data are analyzed to obtain maximum received zero-to-peak pressure levels, maximum received sound exposure levels, and pressure levels in 1 / 3-octave frequency bands for each shot. Experimental data are quantitatively modeled by using an upgraded version of an underwater acoustic propagation model and seismic source modeling packages for a variety of ranges and arrival angles. Experimental and modeled data show good agreement in absolute pressure amplitudes and frequency interference patterns for frequencies up to 1000 Hz. The analysis is important for investigating the potential impact on marine mammals and fish and predicting the exposure levels for newly planned seismic surveys in other geographic areas.

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“…Several studies have previously examined patterns of ambient noise in the northern Gulf of Mexico (Newcomb et al 2002, Snyder & Orlin 2007; however, differences in sensor technology, noise analysis methods, and exact locations used for acoustic recordings between these studies and ours preclude direct comparisons of the data. Differences in averaging time, for instance, can greatly influence the measured sound pressure levels.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 94%

“…These data also offer the opportunity to evaluate whether persistent noise levels may be an additional source of stress on marine animals when aggregated with other anthropogenic disturbances. Several studies of ambient noise in the Gulf have reported statistical trends and characteristics of the acoustic environment (Newcomb et al 2002, Snyder & Orlin 2007; however, their data cover a limited spatial or temporal range and do not interpret the implications of current noise conditions in the context of marine animal ecology.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%