{"id":15444,"date":"2019-07-12T10:28:14","date_gmt":"2019-07-12T10:28:14","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/?p=15444"},"modified":"2023-06-08T19:05:11","modified_gmt":"2023-06-08T19:05:11","slug":"abadi-ocean-noise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.uwb.edu\/news\/2019\/07\/12\/abadi-ocean-noise","title":{"rendered":"Listening to the noise that whales hear"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

By Douglas Esser
\nWith more human activities in the ocean \u2014 shipping, military exercises, oil exploration, wind farms \u2014 the level of underwater noise increases.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Whale<\/figure>\n\n\n\n

That noise has a direct impact on whales and other marine mammals, said Shima Abadi<\/a>, an assistant professor in the University of Washington Bothell\u2019s School of Science, Technology, Engineering & Mathematics (STEM<\/a>). <\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cTo have more activities in the ocean, we need to understand the impact of those activities on the marine environment,\u201d Abadi said. \u201cWe need to know exactly how much noise we are adding to the ocean soundscape. Is it disturbing marine mammals and other animals in the ocean or not?\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A challenging environment<\/h2>\n\n\n\n

To help answer such questions, the Navy\u2019s science arm, the Office of Naval Research (ONR)<\/a>, has awarded Abadi $850,000 over three years to research underwater noise off the Northwest coast. For the research titled \u201cData-Driven Analysis and Prediction of Ocean Ambient Noise in the Northeast Pacific Ocean Continental Slope,\u201d Abadi will analyze acoustic data recorded by hydrophones in the Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI)<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The OOI is a global project funded by the National Science Foundation with eight arrays of sensors in different parts of the world. Two of them are off the Northwest coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Hydrophone
Hydrophone locations off Northwest coast. OOI map<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Coastal Endurance array monitors conditions on the continental slope in the area that includes outflows from the Columbia River. The adjoining Axial Seamount array monitors an active volcano with multiple hydrothermal vents. This is the area, about 300 miles off the Oregon coast, where the Juan de Fuca tectonic plate is sliding under the North America plate, threatening the \u201cbig one\u201d earthquake.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The arrays connect a network of sensors, cameras and other equipment. Two hydrophones in the Endurance array and nine in the Axial Seamount array already have recorded five years of data, Abadi said.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Starting in the fall, her research will not only provide the Navy with information it can use to manage its activities, but it also will demonstrate new techniques of big data analysis \u2014 machine learning using cloud computing resources.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Can you hear me now?<\/h2>\n\n\n\n
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