Estimation of High-Frequency Auditory Masking in Beluga Whales by Commercial Vessels in Cook Inlet, Alaska
Industrial development in Cook Inlet, Alaska, has raised concerns about the decline of the resident beluga whale ( Delphinapterus leucas) population over the past decades. Anthropogenic noise sources, such as commercial vessels, can cause auditory masking of cetacean vocalizations used in communicat...
Published in: | Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board |
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crsagepubl:10.1177/03611981221103230 2023-05-15T15:41:40+02:00 Estimation of High-Frequency Auditory Masking in Beluga Whales by Commercial Vessels in Cook Inlet, Alaska Eickmeier, Justin Vallarta, Jonathan 2022 http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/03611981221103230 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/03611981221103230 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1177/03611981221103230 en eng SAGE Publications http://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board page 036119812211032 ISSN 0361-1981 2169-4052 Mechanical Engineering Civil and Structural Engineering journal-article 2022 crsagepubl https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981221103230 2022-07-03T16:08:53Z Industrial development in Cook Inlet, Alaska, has raised concerns about the decline of the resident beluga whale ( Delphinapterus leucas) population over the past decades. Anthropogenic noise sources, such as commercial vessels, can cause auditory masking of cetacean vocalizations used in communication, navigation, and foraging. This study includes a source-level spectrum of a containership, positioned in Cook Inlet within the primary shipping channel, and audiograms obtained from a live, stranded beluga calf in Cook Inlet, in sound transmission loss modeling. The model uses a hybrid parabolic equation/raytracing solution to determine underwater sound pressure levels. Whereas the communication band of belugas can be fully masked by ambient noise and underwater radiated noise from a containership positioned at 5,000 m, the echolocation band (for navigation) is only partially masked at shorter ranges (≤2,500 m). Increased multipath reflections from the propagation of underwater noise in the upslope direction contributes significantly to the attenuation of high frequencies and minimizes masking in the echolocation band of the beluga whale. To assess the complex task of auditory masking, critical ratios were used to determine the difference between the energy of a pure tone and the noise in the masking band. A successful strategy to reduce underwater radiated noise must consider the interactions and contributions of mitigation measures that have already been shown to be effective. The technical and economic profitability of these measures will largely depend on the design, operating parameters, and mandatory requirements for a particular vessel. Article in Journal/Newspaper Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Alaska SAGE Publications (via Crossref) Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board 036119812211032 |
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Open Polar |
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SAGE Publications (via Crossref) |
op_collection_id |
crsagepubl |
language |
English |
topic |
Mechanical Engineering Civil and Structural Engineering |
spellingShingle |
Mechanical Engineering Civil and Structural Engineering Eickmeier, Justin Vallarta, Jonathan Estimation of High-Frequency Auditory Masking in Beluga Whales by Commercial Vessels in Cook Inlet, Alaska |
topic_facet |
Mechanical Engineering Civil and Structural Engineering |
description |
Industrial development in Cook Inlet, Alaska, has raised concerns about the decline of the resident beluga whale ( Delphinapterus leucas) population over the past decades. Anthropogenic noise sources, such as commercial vessels, can cause auditory masking of cetacean vocalizations used in communication, navigation, and foraging. This study includes a source-level spectrum of a containership, positioned in Cook Inlet within the primary shipping channel, and audiograms obtained from a live, stranded beluga calf in Cook Inlet, in sound transmission loss modeling. The model uses a hybrid parabolic equation/raytracing solution to determine underwater sound pressure levels. Whereas the communication band of belugas can be fully masked by ambient noise and underwater radiated noise from a containership positioned at 5,000 m, the echolocation band (for navigation) is only partially masked at shorter ranges (≤2,500 m). Increased multipath reflections from the propagation of underwater noise in the upslope direction contributes significantly to the attenuation of high frequencies and minimizes masking in the echolocation band of the beluga whale. To assess the complex task of auditory masking, critical ratios were used to determine the difference between the energy of a pure tone and the noise in the masking band. A successful strategy to reduce underwater radiated noise must consider the interactions and contributions of mitigation measures that have already been shown to be effective. The technical and economic profitability of these measures will largely depend on the design, operating parameters, and mandatory requirements for a particular vessel. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Eickmeier, Justin Vallarta, Jonathan |
author_facet |
Eickmeier, Justin Vallarta, Jonathan |
author_sort |
Eickmeier, Justin |
title |
Estimation of High-Frequency Auditory Masking in Beluga Whales by Commercial Vessels in Cook Inlet, Alaska |
title_short |
Estimation of High-Frequency Auditory Masking in Beluga Whales by Commercial Vessels in Cook Inlet, Alaska |
title_full |
Estimation of High-Frequency Auditory Masking in Beluga Whales by Commercial Vessels in Cook Inlet, Alaska |
title_fullStr |
Estimation of High-Frequency Auditory Masking in Beluga Whales by Commercial Vessels in Cook Inlet, Alaska |
title_full_unstemmed |
Estimation of High-Frequency Auditory Masking in Beluga Whales by Commercial Vessels in Cook Inlet, Alaska |
title_sort |
estimation of high-frequency auditory masking in beluga whales by commercial vessels in cook inlet, alaska |
publisher |
SAGE Publications |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
http://dx.doi.org/10.1177/03611981221103230 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/pdf/10.1177/03611981221103230 http://journals.sagepub.com/doi/full-xml/10.1177/03611981221103230 |
genre |
Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Alaska |
genre_facet |
Beluga Beluga whale Beluga* Delphinapterus leucas Alaska |
op_source |
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board page 036119812211032 ISSN 0361-1981 2169-4052 |
op_rights |
http://journals.sagepub.com/page/policies/text-and-data-mining-license |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.1177/03611981221103230 |
container_title |
Transportation Research Record: Journal of the Transportation Research Board |
container_start_page |
036119812211032 |
_version_ |
1766374562499395584 |