Seasonal trends in underwater ambient noise near St. Lawrence Island and the Bering Strait

Brandon L Southall; Hugh Southall; Ricardo Antunes; Ross Nichols; Andrew Rouse; Kathleen M Stafford; Martin Robards; Howard C Rosenbaum

doi:10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111283

Seasonal trends in underwater ambient noise near St. Lawrence Island and the Bering Strait

Mar Pollut Bull. 2020 Aug:157:111283. doi: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111283. Epub 2020 May 25.

Authors

Brandon L Southall¹, Hugh Southall², Ricardo Antunes³, Ross Nichols², Andrew Rouse², Kathleen M Stafford⁴, Martin Robards⁵, Howard C Rosenbaum³

Affiliations

¹ Southall Environmental Associates, Inc., 9099 Soquel Dr, Aptos, CA 95003, USA; Long Marine Laboratory, Institute of Marine Science, University of California, Santa Cruz, 110 McAlister Way, Santa Cruz, CA 95060, USA. Electronic address: Brandon.Southall@sea-inc.net.
² Southall Environmental Associates, Inc., 9099 Soquel Dr, Aptos, CA 95003, USA.
³ Wildlife Conservation Society, Ocean Giants Program, 2300 Southern Blvd., Bronx, NY 10460, USA.
⁴ University of Washington, Applied Physics Laboratory, 1013 NE 40th St., Seattle, WA 98105, USA.
⁵ Wildlife Conservation Society, Arctic Beringia Program, 3550 Airport Way, Suite 5, Fairbanks, AK 99709, USA.

PMID: 32475816
DOI: 10.1016/j.marpolbul.2020.111283

Abstract

We measured spatial and temporal patterns of ambient noise in dynamic, relatively pristine Arctic marine habitats and evaluate the contributions of environmental and human noise sources. Long-term acoustic recorders were deployed around St. Lawrence Island and the Bering Strait region within key feeding and migratory corridors for protected species that are inherently important to Native Alaskan cultures. Over 3000 h of data from 14 recorders at nine sites were obtained from October 2014 to June 2017. Spatial and temporal ambient noise patterns were quantified with percentile statistics in 1/3rd-octave bands (0.02-8 kHz). Ice presence strongly influenced ambient noise by influencing the physical environment and presence of marine mammals. High variability in noise was observed within and between sites, largely as a function of ice presence and associated factors. Acute contributions of biological and anthropogenic sources to local ambient noise are compared to monthly averages, demonstrating how they influence Arctic soundscapes.

Keywords: Ambient noise; Beringia; Marine mammal; Passive acoustics; Shipping.

MeSH terms

Acoustics*
Animals
Arctic Regions
Humans
Islands
Noise*
Seasons