Title
The coastal Arctic marine soundscape near Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada
Author(s)
Halliday, W. D.;Pine, M. K.;Mouy, X.;Kortsalo, P.;Hilliard, R. C.;Insley, S. J.
Published
2020
Publisher
Polar Biology
Abstract
The soundscape is an important habitat feature for marine animals, and climate change may cause large changes to the Arctic marine soundscape through sea ice loss and increased anthropogenic activity. We examined the marine soundscape over eight months near Ulukhaktok, Northwest Territories, Canada, and assessed the relative contribution of the geophony (wind and wave sounds), biophony (marine mammal and fish sounds), and anthrophony (noise from vessel traffic). Sound pressure levels (SPL) were significantly higher during the summer than during the autumn and winter, and these differences were caused by increased wind/waves and vessel traffic in the summer. Increased wind speed drove increased SPL, while increased ice concentration resulted in decreased SPL. When vessel traffic was closer, SPL was higher. Marine mammal and fish vocalizations did not influence SPL; however, timing of vocalizations of both whales and seals matched seasonal patterns shown in other studies within the region. Overall, the marine soundscape near Ulukhaktok varied greatly through time and may be prone to large changes in the future as the ice-free season continues to lengthen and more vessels travel through the region.
Keywords
Ambient sound levels;Anthrophony;Biophony;Geophony;Passive acoustic;monitoring;Underwater noise;cod boreogadus-saida;underwater ambient noise;sea-ice;acoustic;detections;seasonal patterns;sachs harbor;chukchi sea;vocalizations;mammals;ocean;Biodiversity & Conservation;Environmental Sciences & Ecology
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PUB25107