Graduate Student Support: Characterizing the Underwater Soundscapes of Arctic Coastal Regions
Abstract
Studies of underwater sound in the Arctic dates back to the 1950s, and sound levels, production mechanisms and seasonal variations in noise are well-documented. In contrast, little is known about the underwater soundscape in coastal Arctic regions. Progress has been made in identifying some basic mechanisms for sound production and quantifying the spatial properties of the sound field (time-varying vertical directionality and depth-varying correlation, for example) but much remains poorly understood. There is little information about the sources and properties of the sound field above 50 kHz and a lack comprehensive models for sound production at lower frequencies. The proposal requests funds to support a Ph.D. student (Mr. Hayden Johnson) to measure and analyze the time and space-varying statistics of ambient sound in the coastal Arctic from 100s of Hz up to 1 MHz. The primary purpose of the measurements is to identify, characterize and model dominant ambient sound sources in the fjord of a marine-terminating glacier. This work will be supported by datasets already collected by the PI in previous field campaigns and extend observations to a frequency band relevant to coherent acoustic communications and high-frequency imaging sonars operating in polar regions. The work will encompass theoretical models of sound production by melting glacier ice, sensor development, and 2 field deployments in the coastal Arctic waters of Southwestern Spitsbergen, the largest island in the Svalbard archipelago.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Apr 06, 2021
- Source ID
- N000142112304
Entities
People
- Grant B Deane
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of California, San Diego