Modeling and Validating the Effects of Sound on the Marine Environment
Abstract
The long-term goals are to develop novel techniques to measure and predict, through modeling, the effect of sound on the marine environment. Modeling includes acoustic sources, propagation and the interaction of sound with animal behavior models. Determining the necessary environmental information such as bathymetry, sound speed and seabed properties for accurate modeling is also an essential component of this work. The objective of this research is to develop accurate and efficient modeling tools for estimating the impact of sound on marine life. The goal is to provide state-of-the-art, open source codes to model sound sources, sound propagation and animal behavior. We are also assembling open source environmental databases for quantities such as seabed properties, bathymetry and ocean sound speed. Together, these tools will provide the best estimate of the impact of various sonar systems on the marine environment. These tools are bundled with a simple user interface called the One Navy Model (ONM) for Acoustic Effects Software (formerly known as the Effect of Sound on the Marine Environment (ESME) Workbench). This is intended to be a type of gold standard for estimating impact. Currently, Navy environmental impact statements are prepared at the Naval Undersea Warfare Center (NUWC) and by several government contractors. The software and databases being used are often either classified or proprietary. ONR has put together a team consisting Boston University (David Mountain), Biomimetica (Dorian Houser), HLS Research (Michael Porter) and Portland State University (Martin Siderius) to build software, which will make the needed calculations for assessing environmental impact without using classified or proprietary components.
Document Details
- Document Type
- Technical Report
- Publication Date
- Sep 30, 2011
- Accession Number
- ADA599102
Entities
People
- Martin Siderius
- Scott Schecklman
Organizations
- Portland State University