Recent measurement at a previously studied location illustrates the magnitude of increases in ocean ambient noise in the Northeast Pacific over the past four decades. Continuous measurements west of San Nicolas Island, California, over , spanning 2003–2004 are compared to measurements made during the 1960s at the same site. Ambient noise levels at were higher (95% ) in 2003–2004 than in 1964–1966, suggesting an average noise increase rate of per decade. Above the noise level differences between recording periods gradually diminished to only at . Above the 1964–1966 ambient noise levels were higher than in 2003–2004, owing to a diel component which was absent in the more recent data. Low frequency ocean ambient noise levels are closely related to shipping vessel traffic. The number of commercial vessels plying the world’s oceans approximately doubled between 1965 and 2003 and the gross tonnage quadrupled, with a corresponding increase in horsepower. Increases in commercial shipping are believed to account for the observed low-frequency ambient noise increase.
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August 2006
August 01 2006
Increases in deep ocean ambient noise in the Northeast Pacific west of San Nicolas Island, California Available to Purchase
Mark A. McDonald;
Mark A. McDonald
a)
WhaleAcoustics
, 11430 Rist Canyon Road, Bellvue, Colorado 80512
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John A. Hildebrand;
John A. Hildebrand
Marine Physical Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography,
University of California San Diego
, La Jolla, California 92093-0205
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Sean M. Wiggins
Sean M. Wiggins
Marine Physical Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography,
University of California San Diego
, La Jolla, California 92093-0205
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Mark A. McDonald
a)
WhaleAcoustics
, 11430 Rist Canyon Road, Bellvue, Colorado 80512
John A. Hildebrand
Marine Physical Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography,
University of California San Diego
, La Jolla, California 92093-0205
Sean M. Wiggins
Marine Physical Laboratory, Scripps Institution of Oceanography,
University of California San Diego
, La Jolla, California 92093-0205a)
Electronic mail: [email protected]
J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 120, 711–718 (2006)
Article history
Received:
October 10 2005
Accepted:
May 30 2006
Citation
Mark A. McDonald, John A. Hildebrand, Sean M. Wiggins; Increases in deep ocean ambient noise in the Northeast Pacific west of San Nicolas Island, California. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 1 August 2006; 120 (2): 711–718. https://doi.org/10.1121/1.2216565
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