Measurements of underwater noise radiated by commercial ships at a cabled ocean observatory

Zhang, Guosong; Forland, Tonje Nesse; Johnsen, Espen; Pedersen, Geir; Dong, Hefeng

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.110948

Cited by 16 publications

(8 citation statements)

References 13 publications

Supporting

Mentioning

Contrasting

Order By: Relevance

“…Satellite and terrestrial-based AIS data records from January 2016 through August 2017, within a 20 km circular buffer around each AUH deployment location, were queried for activity mirroring the timeline of acoustic data collection. As vessel noise is not directionally consistent, and also varies significantly with speed and tonnage (Wenz, 1962;Urick, 1983;Zhang et al, 2020;Zobell et al, 2021), we selected a conservative buffer radius to ensure that a commercial shipping vessel tracked within the buffer via AIS would also increase the 63 and 125 Hz TOB sound levels at a hydrophone site. A buffer of 20 km was determined using the passive sonar equation (∼67 dB transmission loss for 63 and 125 Hz at 500 m depth) to be the approximate range that noise from a typical commercial shipping vessel would be received at the hydrophone in excess of ambient sound levels at all of the five unique acoustic environments (see example source level calculations in Gassmann et al, 2017 andZhang et al, 2020).…”

Section: Buffer Radiusmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…As vessel noise is not directionally consistent, and also varies significantly with speed and tonnage (Wenz, 1962;Urick, 1983;Zhang et al, 2020;Zobell et al, 2021), we selected a conservative buffer radius to ensure that a commercial shipping vessel tracked within the buffer via AIS would also increase the 63 and 125 Hz TOB sound levels at a hydrophone site. A buffer of 20 km was determined using the passive sonar equation (∼67 dB transmission loss for 63 and 125 Hz at 500 m depth) to be the approximate range that noise from a typical commercial shipping vessel would be received at the hydrophone in excess of ambient sound levels at all of the five unique acoustic environments (see example source level calculations in Gassmann et al, 2017 andZhang et al, 2020). The variation in ambient sound levels across sites and time would either increase distance at which vessel noise contributes to the sound field when sound levels are lower from other sources (e.g., wind) or decrease distance when sound levels are higher from other sources.…”

Section: Buffer Radiusmentioning

confidence: 99%

See 1 more Smart Citation

Large Vessel Activity and Low-Frequency Underwater Sound Benchmarks in United States Waters

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Chronic low-frequency noise from commercial shipping is a worldwide threat to marine animals that rely on sound for essential life functions. Although the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration recognizes the potential negative impacts of shipping noise in marine environments, there are currently no standard metrics to monitor and quantify shipping noise in U.S. marine waters. However, one-third octave band acoustic measurements centered at 63 and 125 Hz are used as international (European Union Marine Strategy Framework Directive) indicators for underwater ambient noise levels driven by shipping activity. We apply these metrics to passive acoustic monitoring data collected over 20 months in 2016–2017 at five dispersed sites throughout the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone: Alaskan Arctic, Hawaii, Gulf of Mexico, Northeast Canyons and Seamounts Marine National Monument (Northwest Atlantic), and Cordell Bank National Marine Sanctuary (Northeast Pacific). To verify the relationship between shipping activity and underwater sound levels, vessel movement data from the Automatic Identification System (AIS) were paired to each passive acoustic monitoring site. Daily average sound levels were consistently near to or higher than 100 dB re 1 μPa in both the 63 and 125 Hz one-third octave bands at sites with high levels of shipping traffic (Gulf of Mexico, Northeast Canyons and Seamounts, and Cordell Bank). Where cargo vessels were less common (the Arctic and Hawaii), daily average sound levels were comparatively lower. Specifically, sound levels were ∼20 dB lower year-round in Hawaii and ∼10-20 dB lower in the Alaskan Arctic, depending on the season. Although these band-level measurements can only generally facilitate differentiation of sound sources, these results demonstrate that international acoustic indicators of commercial shipping can be applied to data collected in U.S. waters as a unified metric to approximate the influence of shipping as a driver of ambient noise levels, provide critical information to managers and policy makers about the status of marine environments, and to identify places and times for more detailed investigation regarding environmental impacts.

show abstract

Section: Buffer Radiusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Section: Buffer Radiusmentioning

confidence: 99%

Large Vessel Activity and Low-Frequency Underwater Sound Benchmarks in United States Waters

et al. 2021

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

show abstract

“…Ship noise source level can be different with varying speed through water, and stormy weather could result in higher ambient noise levels 57 . Furthermore, the travel direction of the vessels may also have an impact on received levels 78 . An assessment of these interactions is therefore advisable in future soundscape endeavours.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal patterns in the soundscape of a Norwegian gateway to the Arctic

Aniceto

Ferguson²,

Pedersen

et al. 2022

Sci Rep

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

As an Arctic gateway, the Norwegian Sea sustains a rich diversity of seasonal and resident species of soniferous animals, vulnerable to the effects of climate change and anthropogenic activities. We show the occurrence of seasonal patterns of acoustic signals in a small canyon off Northern Norway, and investigate cetacean vocal behavior, human-made noise, and climatic contributions to underwater sound between January and May 2018. Mostly median sound levels ranged between 68.3 and 96.31 dB re 1 μPa2 across 1/3 octave bands (13 Hz–16 kHz), with peaks in February and March. Frequencies under 2 kHz were dominated by sounds from baleen whales with highest rates of occurrence during winter and early spring. During late-spring non-biological sounds were predominant at higher frequencies that were linked mainly to ship traffic. Seismic pulses were also recorded during spring. We observed a significant effect of wind speed and ship sailing time on received sound levels across multiple distance ranges. Our results provide a new assessment of high-latitude continental soundscapes in the East Atlantic Ocean, useful for management strategies in areas where anthropogenic pressure is increasing. Based on the current status of the local soundscape, we propose considerations for acoustic monitoring to be included in future management plans.

show abstract

“…This study also showed the potential of gliders to detect and record anthropogenic noise, and when overlapping with cetacean vocal activity, how noise may represent a potential stressor for marine mammals. Underwater noise radiated by ships was previously recorded in LoVe and is one of the main sources of anthropogenic marine noise [74,75]. On the technical side, the placement of acoustic sensors onboard autonomous vehicles will influence the quality of the data obtained.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Autonomous Surface and Underwater Vehicles as Effective Ecosystem Monitoring and Research Platforms in the Arctic—The Glider Project

Camus

Andrade

Aniceto

et al. 2021

Sensors

Self Cite

View full text Add to dashboard Cite

Effective ocean management requires integrated and sustainable ocean observing systems enabling us to map and understand ecosystem properties and the effects of human activities. Autonomous subsurface and surface vehicles, here collectively referred to as “gliders”, are part of such ocean observing systems providing high spatiotemporal resolution. In this paper, we present some of the results achieved through the project “Unmanned ocean vehicles, a flexible and cost-efficient offshore monitoring and data management approach—GLIDER”. In this project, three autonomous surface and underwater vehicles were deployed along the Lofoten–Vesterålen (LoVe) shelf-slope-oceanic system, in Arctic Norway. The aim of this effort was to test whether gliders equipped with novel sensors could effectively perform ecosystem surveys by recording physical, biogeochemical, and biological data simultaneously. From March to September 2018, a period of high biological activity in the area, the gliders were able to record a set of environmental parameters, including temperature, salinity, and oxygen, map the spatiotemporal distribution of zooplankton, and record cetacean vocalizations and anthropogenic noise. A subset of these parameters was effectively employed in near-real-time data assimilative ocean circulation models, improving their local predictive skills. The results presented here demonstrate that autonomous gliders can be effective long-term, remote, noninvasive ecosystem monitoring and research platforms capable of operating in high-latitude marine ecosystems. Accordingly, these platforms can record high-quality baseline environmental data in areas where extractive activities are planned and provide much-needed information for operational and management purposes.

show abstract

Measurements of underwater noise radiated by commercial ships at a cabled ocean observatory

Cited by 16 publications

References 13 publications

Large Vessel Activity and Low-Frequency Underwater Sound Benchmarks in United States Waters

Large Vessel Activity and Low-Frequency Underwater Sound Benchmarks in United States Waters

Temporal patterns in the soundscape of a Norwegian gateway to the Arctic

Autonomous Surface and Underwater Vehicles as Effective Ecosystem Monitoring and Research Platforms in the Arctic—The Glider Project

Contact Info

Product

Resources

About