An integrated underwater soundscape analysis in the Bering Strait region The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America

Rapid changes in the Arctic from shifting climate and human use patterns are affecting previously reported distributions and movements of marine mammals. The underwater soundscape, a key component of marine mammal habitats, is also changing. This study integrates acoustic data, collected at a site in the northern Bering Sea, with information on sound sources to quantify their occurrence throughout the year and identify deviations in conditions and dominant soundscape components. Predictive models are applied to explain variation in sound levels and to compare the relative contributions of various soundscape components. Levels across all octave bands were influenced most strongly by the variation in abiotic environment across seasons. The presence of commercial ships did not have a discernible effect on sound levels at this location and period of time. The occurrence of sources was compared to a second site, where we documented how higher levels of shipping changed that soundscape. This study demonstrated the value of acoustic monitoring to characterize the dominant acoustic features in a soundscape and the importance of preserving soundscapes based on dominant features rather than level of sound. Using a soundscape approach has relevance for protecting marine mammals and for the food security of Alaska Native communities that depend upon them.

北极地区因气候变迁与人类活动模式改变而发生的快速变化，正影响着此前已被报道的海洋哺乳动物（marine mammals）分布与活动模式。作为海洋哺乳动物栖息地核心组成部分的水下声景（underwater soundscape），同样也在发生改变。本研究整合了在白令海北部某观测站点采集的声学数据与声源相关信息，以量化各类声源全年的出现频次，并识别声景条件与主导声景组分的异常变化。本研究通过构建预测模型，阐释声级的变化差异，并对比各类声景组分的相对贡献占比。所有倍频带（octave bands）的声级均受季节间非生物环境（abiotic environment）变化的最显著影响。在此研究站点与时段内，商业船舶（commercial ships）的出现并未对声级产生可观测的显著影响。研究将该站点的声源出现动态与另一站点进行对比，借此揭示了更高密度的航运活动如何改变该站点的水下声景。本研究证实了声学监测在表征声景主导声学特征方面的价值，以及基于声景主导特征而非声级水平开展声景保护的重要性。采用声景研究方法，对于保护海洋哺乳动物，以及依赖此类动物的阿拉斯加原住民（Alaska Native）社区的粮食安全均具有重要意义。