Characterization of the Acoustic Field in Marine Environments with Anthropogenic Noise

• Other Authors: Vignola, Joseph F (Advisor), Guan, Shane (Author), Judge, John A (Other), Turo, Diego (Other), Southall, Brandon L (Other)
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: unknown
• Published: The Catholic University of America 2015
• Subjects: Acoustics; Environmental science; Fisheries and aquatic sciences; acoustic habitat; inter-pulse sound field; noise impact; ocean noise; soundscape; underwater noise; Arctic; Beaufort Sea
• Online Access: http://hdl.handle.net/1961/cuislandora:28287; https://cuislandora.wrlc.org/islandora/object/cuislandora%3A28287

Most animals inhabit the aquatic environment are acoustical-oriented, due to the physical characteristics of water that favors sound transmission. Many aquatic animals depend on underwater sound to navigate, communicate, find prey, and avoid predators. The degradation of underwater acoustic environment due to human activities is expected to affected these animals' well-being and survival at the population level. This dissertation presents three original studies on the characteristics and behavior of underwater sound fields in three unique marine environments with anthropogenic noises.The first study examines the soundscape of the Chinese white dolphin habitat in Taiwan. Acoustic recordings were made at two coastal shallow water locations, Yunlin and Waisanding, in 2012. Results show that croaker choruses are dominant sound sources in the 1.2-2.4 kHz frequency band for both locations at night, and noises from container ships in the 150-300 Hz frequency band define the relative higher broadband sound levels at Yunlin. Results also illustrate interrelationships among different biotic, abiotic, and anthropogenic elements that shape the fine-scale soundscape in a coastal environment.The second study investigates the inter-pulse sound field during an open-water seismic survey in coastal shallow waters of the Arctic. The research uses continuous acoustic recordings collected from one bottom-mounted hydrophone deployed in the Beaufort Sea in summer 2012. Two quantitative methods were developed to examine the inter-pulse sound field characteristics and its dependence on source distances. Results show that inter-pulse sound field could raise the ambient noise floor by as much as 9 dB, depending on ambient condition and source distance.The third study examines the inter-ping sound field of simulated mid-frequency active sonar in deep waters off southern California in 2013 and 2014. The study used drifting acoustic recorder buoys to collect acoustic data during sonar playbacks. The results show strong band-limited elevation ...