Mapping cumulative noise from shipping to inform marine spatial planning.

Including ocean noise in marine spatial planning requires predictions of noise levels on large spatiotemporal scales. Based on a simple sound transmission model and ship track data (Automatic Identification System, AIS), cumulative underwater acoustic energy from shipping was mapped throughout 2008 in the west Canadian Exclusive Economic Zone, showing high noise levels in critical habitats for endangered resident killer whales, exceeding limits of "good conservation status" under the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive. Error analysis proved that rough calculations of noise occurrence and propagation can form a basis for management processes, because spending resources on unnecessary detail is wasteful and delays remedial action.

[1]  A. Frankel,et al.  A New Context‐Based Approach to Assess Marine Mammal Behavioral Responses to Anthropogenic Sounds , 2012, Conservation biology : the journal of the Society for Conservation Biology.

[2]  J. Hildebrand,et al.  Underwater radiated noise from modern commercial ships. , 2012, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[3]  M. Carnes.  Description and Evaluation of GDEM-V 3.0 , 2009 .

[4]  C. Clark,et al.  Characterizing the Relative Contributions of Large Vessels to Total Ocean Noise Fields: A Case Study Using the Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary , 2008, Environmental management.

[5]  Carrie V. Kappel,et al.  A Global Map of Human Impact on Marine Ecosystems , 2008, Science.

[6]  Michael J Buckingham,et al.  Compressional and shear wave properties of marine sediments: comparisons between theory and data. , 2005, The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America.

[7]  L. Brekhovskikh,et al.  Fundamentals of Ocean Acoustics (3rd edition) , 2004 .

[8]  J. Barrie,et al.  Holocene faulting on a tectonic margin: Georgia Basin, British Columbia, Canada , 2004 .

[9]  Dafydd Gibbon,et al.  1 User’s guide , 1998 .

[10]  Michael D. Collins,et al.  Comparison of algorithms for solving parabolic wave equations , 1996 .

[11]  Walter H. F. Smith,et al.  A global, self‐consistent, hierarchical, high‐resolution shoreline database , 1996 .

[12]  B. Bornhold,et al.  Surficial sediments on the western Canadian continental shelf , 1991 .

[13]  R. Heitmeyer,et al.  Acoustic source‐level measurements for a variety of merchant ships , 1991 .

[14]  R. Francois,et al.  Sound absorption based on ocean measurements. Part II: Boric acid contribution and equation for total absorption , 1982 .

[15]  R. Francois,et al.  Sound absorption based on ocean measurements: Part I: Pure water and magnesium sulfate contributions , 1982 .

[16]  W. Kuperman,et al.  Fundamentals of Ocean Acoustics , 2011 .

[17]  Werner Stefanie,et al.  Marine Strategy Framework Directive - Task Group 11 Report Underwater Noise and Other Forms of Energy , 2010 .

[18]  Alexander O. MacGillivray,et al.  Acoustic modelling study of seismic airgun noise in Queen Charlotte Basin , 2006 .

[19]  B. Bornhold,et al.  Surficial geology of Hecate Strait, British Columbia continental shelf , 1988 .