The marine soundscape of the Fram Strait

Abstract

The marine soundscape of the Fram Strait has been subject to investigations since the mid 1980’s. Increasing interest in Arctic operations has initiated a recent series of acoustic experiments that includes synoptic ambient noise measurements in the Marginal Ice Zone conducted over the years 2010–2012. This presentation will give an overview of these experiments, then focus on results from measurements made with sonobuoys under varying ice and environmental conditions in the MIZ. Noise spectra (20 Hz—2 kHz) are presented, discussed, and compared with historical data from 1985 to 1987. Spectra are categorized by environmental parameters including wind force and direction as derived from numerical models, ice concentration derived from satellite images, ocean wave properties from a coupled ice-ocean prediction model, and sound propagation conditions inferred from the ice-ocean model. The contributions to this soundscape that will be quantified and discussed include open-ocean wind-generated noise, ice floe collision, marine mammals, and seismic exploration activity.