37 Ambient sound levels SNE wind energy areas
Description: Annual decidecade sound pressure levels from Southern New England Wind Energy Areas
Indicator family:
Contributor(s): Sofie M. Van Parijs, Annamaria I. DeAngelis , Tyler Aldrich, Rochelle Gordon, Amanda Holdman , Jessica A. McCordic, Xavier Mouy, Timothy J. Rowell, Sara Tennant, Annabel Westell and Genevieve E. Davis
Affiliations: NEFSC
37.1 Introduction to Indicator
Decidecade sound pressure levels show the distribution of acoustic energy across frequencies. Peaks in sound levels within particular decidecade frequency bins indicate louder sounds at those frequencies, with frequencies below 1000 Hz typically representing contributions from baleen whales, vessel traffic, and soniferous fishes.
37.2 Key Results and Visualizations
By comparing the distribution of ambient sound across frequencies, we can assess any temporal changes within sites and spatial patterns across sites. These data provide a representation of approximately 2 years of baseline ambient sound metrics prior to the construction of offshore wind turbines in Southern New England. Sources of sound above ambient background noise were largely below 1 kHz.
37.3 Indicator statistics
Spatial scale: Third octave level metrics are provided from 7 sites throughout the Southern New England Wind Energy Areas, with recording locations primarily on Cox’s Ledge and Nantucket Shoals.
Temporal scale: Annual
Synthesis Theme:
37.4 Implications
Long-term time series of ambient sound metrics may provide a rapid indicator of changes in the soundscape, including increasing anthropogenic noise, shifting species ranges, phenological changes, or increased storm activity.
37.5 Get the data
Point of contact: Jessica McCordic (jessica.mccordic@noaa.gov); Sofie Van Parijs (sofie.vanparijs@noaa.gov)
ecodata name: ecodata::wea_sound
Variable definitions
Ex: 1) Name: piscivore_biomass; Definition: Biomass of piscivores; Units: kg tow^-1. 2) Name: forage_biomass; Definition: Biomass of forage fish; Units: kg tow^-1.
Indicator Category:
37.7 Accessibility and Constraints
No response
tech-doc link https://noaa-edab.github.io/tech-doc/wea_sound.html