Spatial characteristics of an Arctic ambient noise field. Free

During multidisciplinary experiments in the 1980s and 1990s, ambient noise characteristics were found to be related to different ice types, distance from the ice edge, tidal current, wave conditions, and ice edge eddies. Primary noise generation mechanisms are ice floe collisions, ice cracking, ridging, and breakup caused by wave interaction with sea ice, internal ice stress, and changes in air temperature. Furthermore, sound propagation conditions determined by surface reflectivity due to sea ice and ocean stratification have a strong impact on the time averaged ambient noise spectrum. Ambient noise as a way to provide information about the environment is being explored in ongoing experiments within the ACOBAR and WIFAR projects. This paper presents spatial characteristics of the low‐frequency ambient noise field from data collected simultaneously at 16 sites in the Marginal Ice Zone (Fram Strait) in October 2010. The acoustic measurements covered a 100 x 100 km² area from open water to within the ice cover at frequencies from 10 Hz to 2 kHz. Noise spectra will be presented and compared with earlier measurements from the same area.