[Submission]: Ambient sound levels SNE wind energy areas

[BBeltz1]

Primary Contact

[email protected]

Secondary Contact

No response

Data Name (This will be the displayed title in Catalog)

Ambient sound levels SNE wind energy areas

Indicator Name (as exists in ecodata)

wea_sound

Family (Which group is this indicator associated with?)

• Oceanographic
• Habitat
• Lower trophic levels
• Megafauna
• Social
• Economic

Data Description

Annual decidecade sound pressure levels from Southern New England Wind Energy Areas

Introduction to Indicator (Please explain your 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.

Key Results and Visualization

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.

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.

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

• Multiple System Drivers
• Regime Shifts
• Ecosystem Reorganization

Define Variables

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

• Published Methods
• Extensive analysis, not yet published
• Syntheses of published information
• Database pull
• Database pull with analysis
• Other

If other, please specify indicator category

No response

Data Contributors

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

Point(s) of Contact

Jessica McCordic ([email protected]); Sofie Van Parijs ([email protected])

Affiliation

NEFSC

Public Availability

Source data are publicly available.

Accessibility and Constraints

No response