Sound propagation modeling of right whale calls in Cape Cod Bay.

Abstract

Numerical simulations of underwater sound propagation for right whale calls in the Cape Cod Bay are presented. Whale calls recorded by the acoustic tags attached on the whales in the region are used in the model. The tag records show that whales made sweeps in a fundamental frequency band from 80 to 200 Hz, along with harmonics of higher frequency up to 4 kHz. The acoustic modeling is performed for both fundamental and harmonic sweeps. The acoustic normal mode propagation of lower‐frequency fundamental sweeps will be examined, as well as the acoustic ray path of higher frequency harmonic sweeps. The real bathymetry and water‐column stratification are considered in the model to study the environmental effects on sound propagation. Applications to passive acoustic monitoring of whales in the Cape Cod Bay are then discussed.