Unusually loud ambient noise in tidewater glacier fjords: A signal of ice melt
Abstract
In glacierized fjords, the ice‐ocean boundary is a physically and biologically dynamic environment that is sensitive to both glacier flow and ocean circulation. Ocean ambient noise offers insight into processes and change at the ice‐ocean boundary. Here we characterize fjord ambient noise and show that the average noise levels are louder than nearly all measured natural oceanic environments (significantly louder than sea ice and nonglacierized fjords). Icy Bay, Alaska, has an annual average sound pressure level of 120 dB (referenced to 1 μPa) with a broad peak between 1000 and 3000 Hz. Bubble formation in the water column as glacier ice melts is the noise source, with variability driven by fjord circulation patterns. Measurements from two additional fjords, in Alaska and Antarctica, support that this unusually loud ambient noise in Icy Bay is representative of glacierized fjords. These high noise levels likely alter the behavior of marine mammals.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Pub Defense Publication
- Publication Date
- Apr 01, 2015
- Source ID
- 10.1002/2014gl062950
Entities
People
- Erin Christine Pettit
- Jeffrey Aaron Nystuen
- Joel Palmer Brann
- Kevin Michael Lee
- Preston Scot Wilson
- Shad O'Neel
Organizations
- National Science Foundation
- Office of Naval Research
- University of Alaska Fairbanks
- University of Texas at Austin
- University of Washington