Acoustic environment of admiralty inlet: Broadband noise measurements

Abstract

Admiralty Inlet has been selected as a potential tidal energy site. It is located near shipping lanes, is a highly variable acoustic environment, and is frequented by the endangered southern resident killer whale (SRKW). Resolving environmental impacts is the first step to receiving approval to deploy tidal turbines at Admiralty Inlet. Of particular concern is the potential for blade strike or other negative interactions between the SRKW and the tidal turbine. A variety of technologies including passive and active monitoring systems are being considered as potential tools to determine the presence of SRKW in the vicinity of the turbines. Broadband noise level measurements are critical for determining design and operational specifications of ocean energy capture technologies. Acoustic environment data at the proposed site was acquired at different depths using a cabled vertical line array (VLA) with four calibrated hydrophones. The power spectrum density of the sound pressure level (SPL) was estimated using the fast Fourier transform. This study describes the first broadband SPL measurements for this site at different depths with frequencies ranging from 10 kHz to 480 kHz in combination with other information. To understand the SPL caused by bedload transport, three different pressure sensors with temperature and conductivity were also assembled on the VLA to measure the conditions at the hydrophone deployment depth. The broadband SPL levels at frequency ranges of 3 kHz to 7 kHz as a function of depth were estimated. Only the hydrophone at an average depth of 40 m showed the strong dependence of SPL with distance from the bottom, which was possibly caused by the cobbles shifting on the seabed. Automatic Identification System data were also studied to understand the influence of ship traffic on SPL measurements.