Multi-site validation of shipping noise maps using field measurements

Underwater radiated noise from shipping is globally pervasive and can cause deleterious effects on marine life, ranging from behavioural responses to physiological effects. Acoustic modelling makes it possible to map this noise over large areas and long timescales, and to test mitigation scenarios such as ship speed reduction or spatial...

A Reference Spectrum Model for Estimating Source Levels of Marine Shipping Based on Automated Identification System Data

Underwater sound mapping is increasingly being used as a tool for monitoring and managing noise pollution from shipping in the marine environment. Sound maps typically rely on tracking data from the Automated Information System (AIS), but information available from AIS is limited and not easily related to vessel noise emissions. Thus, robust...

Ecological Risk Assessment of Underwater Sounds from Dredging Operations

There is an increasing international focus to understand and quantify the potential ecological risks of low-frequency underwater sounds produced from anthropogenic activities (e.g., commercial shipping, dredging, construction, and offshore energy production). For dredge operations, a risk-based approach has been proposed for identifying,...

Application of kurtosis to underwater sound

Regulations for underwater anthropogenic noise are typically formulated in terms of peak sound pressure, root-mean-square sound pressure, and (weighted or unweighted) sound exposure. Sound effect studies on humans and other terrestrial mammals suggest that in addition to these metrics, the impulsiveness of sound (often quantified by its kurtosis...

TTS growth and recovery in habor porpoises exposed to intermittent and continuous signals

This report describes the results of two separate IOGP JIP-funded projects (I) and (II), both aimed at studying Temporary Threshold Shift (TTS) in harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) exposed to repeated airgun exposures. The objective of this study was to obtain data to develop a scientifically valid method to predict TTS growth, recovery, and...

Predicting acoustic dose associated with marine mammal behavioural responses to sound as detected with fixed acoustic recorders and satellite tags

To understand the consequences of underwater noise exposure for cetaceans, there is a need for assessments of behavioural responses over increased spatial and temporal scales. Bottom-moored acoustic recorders and satellite tags provide such long-term and large spatial coverage of behaviour compared to short-duration acoustic-recording tags....

Effect of a bubble screen on the behavioral responses of captive harbor porpoises (Phocoena phocoena) exposed to airgun sounds

Summary report panel 1: The need for protocols and standards in research on underwater noise impacts on marine life

As concern about anthropogenic noise and its impacts on marine fauna is increasing around the globe, data are being compared across populations, species, noise sources, geographic regions, and time. However, much of the raw and processed data are not comparable due to differences in measurement methodology, analysis and reporting, and a lack of...

Separating underwater ambient noise from flow noise recorded on stereo acoustic tags attached to marine mammals

Sound-recording acoustic tags attached to marine animals are commonly used in behavioural studies. Measuring ambient noise is of interest to efforts to understand responses of marine mammals to anthropogenic underwater sound, or to assess their communication space. Noise of water flowing around the tag reflects the speed of the animal, but...

Mapping underwater sound in the Dutch part of the North Sea

The European Union requires member states to achieve or maintain good environmental status for their marine territorial waters and explicitly mentions potentially adverse effects of underwater sound. In this study, we focused on producing maps of underwater sound from various natural and anthropogenic origins in the Dutch North Sea. The source...

Underwater noise measurements in the North Sea in and near the Princess Amalia Wind Farm in operation

Effect of pile-driving sounds on the survival of larval fish

Concern exists about the potential effects of pile-driving sounds on fish, but evidence is limited, especially for fish larvae. A device was developed to expose larvae to accurately reproduced pile-driving sounds. Controlled exposure experiments were carried out to examine the lethal effects in common sole larvae. No significant effects were...

Dose response severity functions for acoustic disturbance in cetaceans using recurrent event survival analysis

Behavioral response studies (BRSs) aim to enhance our understanding of the behavior changes made by animals in response to specific exposure levels of different stimuli, often presented in an increasing dosage. Here, we focus on BRSs that aim to understand behavioral responses of free-ranging whales and dolphins to manmade acoustic signals ...

Effects of Sound in the Ocean on Marine Mammals ESOMM-2014 International Meeting

Ship sound mapping in the North Sea

There is an increasing concern that anthropogenic underwater noise may have a negative impact on marine life. Governmental authorities are introducing regulations to address this problem. The European Commission, for instance, has adopted the Marine Strategy Framework Directive requiring EU Member States to achieve or maintain Good Environmental...

Mapping underwater noise for the Dutch part of North Sea (abstract)

The EU’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires member states (MS) to achieve or maintain Good Environmental Status (GES) by 2020. Specifically, the wording of Descriptor 11 requires “underwater noise to be at levels that do not adversely affect the marine environment”. The MSFD further requires monitoring of “trends in the ambient...

Insights into the Calculation of Metrics for Transient Sounds in Shallow Water

Concern about possible impact of human activity on marine life has led to regulation in the USA [1,2] and the EU [3].The EU’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive [3] requires member states to achieve Good Environmental Status (GES) by 2020. Descriptor 11 of GES is “Introduction of energy, including underwater noise, is at levels that do not...