Ambient noise in the northern Gulf of Mexico determined by passive acoustic monitoring between 2007 and 2015

This dataset is used to analyze ambient noise background levels measured in the northern Gulf of Mexico in 2007, 2010, and 2015 near the Deepwater Horizon site. Passive acoustic data were collected using EARS (Environmental Acoustic Recording System) buoys deployed at two sites from 2007-07-07 to 2007-07-16 (south site only, 28°25.23’N, 88°37.07’W; depth 1465 m), 2010-09-11 to 2010-09-23 (south site only, 28°24.61’N, 88°34.26’W; depth 1550 m), and 2015-06-26 to 2015-10-22 (north site only, 28°39.07’N, 88°31.05’W; depth 1570 m). Each file contains one minute’s average power spectral density with 1 Hz resolution between 1-40000 Hz. The data has been high-pass filtered (>200 Hz); the true levels are only for frequencies higher than 200 Hz. The deployment and recovery noise is also present at the beginning and end of the site analysis. This dataset supports the publication: Sidorovskaia, N. A., & Li, K. (2016). Decadal evolution of the northern Gulf of Mexico soundscapes. doi:10.1121/2.0000382.