While there is an increasing concern on the effects of anthropogenic noise sources on the marine ... more While there is an increasing concern on the effects of anthropogenic noise sources on the marine environment, the technology is now available to assess and predict these effects at basin scales, thus helping management actions to be taken. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires from Member States to develop strategies to achieve Good Environmental Status in European waters. In particular, Descriptor 11 addresses ship noise through the measurement and modeling of noise levels in areas of maritime activity. The AQUO project, under the EU Ocean of Tomorrow programme developed an Ocean Shipping Noise Footprint Assessment Model that directly respond to the need of defining, predicting and mitigating the effects of ship noise on marine fauna.
There is a rising concern about the environmental status of the seas of our planet. Such concern ... more There is a rising concern about the environmental status of the seas of our planet. Such concern regards several kinds of anthropogenic activities and their impact on the marine ecosystems. Part of the adverse effects are recognised to be due to various forms of acoustic emissions generated by human activities related to the exploitation of sea resources and to shipping. The main regulatory bodies at international level, in the last decade, have started to look into the problem with the aim of monitoring the environmental status of marine waters, (in particular the acoustical aspects) identify the situations where the anthropogenic impact is most intrusive and study and promote future actions for its control and reduction. The present work reports about the development and validation of a simulation tool able to predict the noise field generated by a set of ships sailing in a specific area. The simulation is based on real traffic data derived from the Automatic Identification System (AIS) normally used to monitor shipping traffic and on specific data characterising the environment of the zone of interest. The tool is meant to provide the Regulator with a means to study the present situation (with on-line AIS data) and/or study the effectiveness of possible measures devoted to reduce the acoustical impact of shipping by design and/or operative requirements. Motivation, bases and characteristics of the developed procedure are described in the paper, where a first validation of the tool is presented on the basis of data regarding a sea area off Barcelona (Spain). Data include AIS records, environmental parameters and underwater sound levels surveyed by an hydrophone placed in the area. The work has been developed in the framework of the collaborative project AQUO (Achieve QUieter Oceans by shipping noise footprint reduction), funded by the European Commission within a call of the 7th Framework Programme dedicated to the assessment and mitigation of noise impacts of the maritime transport on the marine environment, coordinated topic “The Ocean of Tomorrow”.
A method for determining the impulse of a medium responses (2) vis-a-vis the transmission of wave... more A method for determining the impulse of a medium responses (2) vis-a-vis the transmission of waves between different points (T1-TN), waves are emitted into the medium by generating at each point i of signals ei (t) each consisting of n individual signals of respective frequencies spaced apart in pairs a separate .DELTA.f and not of the frequencies of individual signals corresponding to the other points, then picks up signals rj (t) of j after transmission points said waves in the medium, and calculates each impulse response hij (t) from a correlation signal between the signal ei (t) emitted at the point i and the signal rj (t) picked up at the point j.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 2008
An innovative technique has been developed to localize intruders crossing an acoustic underwater ... more An innovative technique has been developed to localize intruders crossing an acoustic underwater tripwire surveillance system in shallow water chokepoints. In the context of defence against terrorism, an sample application would be the permanent autonomous detection and localization of small underwater vehicles or divers surreptitiously entering a friendly harbor. The proposed method uses forward propagation and produces an acoustic image of the whole underwater entrance of a harbor, scanning and checking for intrusion in the area of interest. It is anticipated that the system could provide a high image rate and improved performance in noisy, reverberating, and changing environment. This paper discusses results obtained from a scaled tank experiment and shows preliminary results at sea.
The protection of marine habitats from human-generated underwater noise is an emerging challenge.... more The protection of marine habitats from human-generated underwater noise is an emerging challenge. Baseline information on sound levels, however, is poorly available, especially in the Mediterranean Sea. To bridge this knowledge gap, the SOUNDSCAPE project ran a basin-scale, cross-national, long-term underwater monitoring in the Northern Adriatic Sea. A network of nine monitoring stations, characterized by different natural conditions and anthropogenic pressures, ensured acoustic data collection from March 2020 to June 2021, including the full lockdown period related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Calibrated stationary recorders featured with an omnidirectional Neptune Sonar D60 Hydrophone recorded continuously 24 h a day (48 kHz sampling rate, 16 bit resolution). Data were analysed to Sound Pressure Levels (SPLs) with a specially developed and validated processing app. Here, we release the dataset composed of 20 and 60 seconds averaged SPLs (one-third octave, base 10) output files and a ...
The goal of the EU project AQUO (www.aquo.eu) is to provide policy makers with practical guidelin... more The goal of the EU project AQUO (www.aquo.eu) is to provide policy makers with practical guidelines, acceptable by shipyards and ship owners, in order to mitigate underwater noise footprint due to shipping, which causes disturbances to marine life. Thanks to a multidisciplinary team of specialists from 8 different European countries, AQUO project results are expected to have significant impacts, contributing meeting the requirements of the MSFD. After a general presentation of the project, this paper presents the methodology followed to assess an underwater noise footprint on marine life due to shipping, taking into account recent results from the project. In particular, focus will be given on the expression of the needs, and by proposed definitions of noise footprint and associated indicators. Special care will be given on the methodology to assess the efficiency of mitigation measures, which are of two types (technical or regulatory). The presentation will conclude with the on-going research and its use to derive the expected final guidelines.
Underwater noise has been significantly raising in the past decades due to an increment of human-... more Underwater noise has been significantly raising in the past decades due to an increment of human-related activities in the oceans such as shipping, industrial activities, seismic explorations, etc. These activities may have adverse effects on fish and mammals, such as communications masking and modifying predator– prey interactions. In order to assess and limit the impact of these, the European Commission approved the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) which aims to achieve a good environmental status in European waters. Within this directive different environmental challenges are addressed, including the long-term monitoring of underwater noise throughout European waters. EMODnet Physics, one of the European Marine Observation and Data network thematic portals, which is is currently providing easy access to data and products of: wave height and period; temperature and salinity of the water column; wind speed and direction; horizontal velocity of the water column; light atte...
Underwater noise has been significantly raising in the past decades due to an increment of human-... more Underwater noise has been significantly raising in the past decades due to an increment of human-related activities in the oceans such as shipping, industrial activities, seismic explorations, coastal developments, etc. As recognized by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), these activities may have adverse effects on fish and mammals, such as communications masking and modifying predator–prey interactions, or, for the most intense noise sources, direct temporary or permanent physiological damage. In order to assess and limit the impact of these, the European Commission approved the Marine Strategy Framework Directive which aims to achieve a good environmental status in European waters. Within this directive different environmental challenges are addressed, including the long-term monitoring of underwater noise throughout European waters. EMODnet Physics is one of the European Marine Observation and Data network thematic portals, which is currently providing access physica...
While there is an increasing concern on the effects of anthropogenic noise sources on the marine ... more While there is an increasing concern on the effects of anthropogenic noise sources on the marine environment, the technology is now available to assess and predict these effects at basin scales, thus helping management actions to be taken. The Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) requires from Member States to develop strategies to achieve Good Environmental Status in European waters. In particular, Descriptor 11 addresses ship noise through the measurement and modeling of noise levels in areas of maritime activity. The AQUO project, under the EU Ocean of Tomorrow programme developed an Ocean Shipping Noise Footprint Assessment Model that directly respond to the need of defining, predicting and mitigating the effects of ship noise on marine fauna.
There is a rising concern about the environmental status of the seas of our planet. Such concern ... more There is a rising concern about the environmental status of the seas of our planet. Such concern regards several kinds of anthropogenic activities and their impact on the marine ecosystems. Part of the adverse effects are recognised to be due to various forms of acoustic emissions generated by human activities related to the exploitation of sea resources and to shipping. The main regulatory bodies at international level, in the last decade, have started to look into the problem with the aim of monitoring the environmental status of marine waters, (in particular the acoustical aspects) identify the situations where the anthropogenic impact is most intrusive and study and promote future actions for its control and reduction. The present work reports about the development and validation of a simulation tool able to predict the noise field generated by a set of ships sailing in a specific area. The simulation is based on real traffic data derived from the Automatic Identification System (AIS) normally used to monitor shipping traffic and on specific data characterising the environment of the zone of interest. The tool is meant to provide the Regulator with a means to study the present situation (with on-line AIS data) and/or study the effectiveness of possible measures devoted to reduce the acoustical impact of shipping by design and/or operative requirements. Motivation, bases and characteristics of the developed procedure are described in the paper, where a first validation of the tool is presented on the basis of data regarding a sea area off Barcelona (Spain). Data include AIS records, environmental parameters and underwater sound levels surveyed by an hydrophone placed in the area. The work has been developed in the framework of the collaborative project AQUO (Achieve QUieter Oceans by shipping noise footprint reduction), funded by the European Commission within a call of the 7th Framework Programme dedicated to the assessment and mitigation of noise impacts of the maritime transport on the marine environment, coordinated topic “The Ocean of Tomorrow”.
A method for determining the impulse of a medium responses (2) vis-a-vis the transmission of wave... more A method for determining the impulse of a medium responses (2) vis-a-vis the transmission of waves between different points (T1-TN), waves are emitted into the medium by generating at each point i of signals ei (t) each consisting of n individual signals of respective frequencies spaced apart in pairs a separate .DELTA.f and not of the frequencies of individual signals corresponding to the other points, then picks up signals rj (t) of j after transmission points said waves in the medium, and calculates each impulse response hij (t) from a correlation signal between the signal ei (t) emitted at the point i and the signal rj (t) picked up at the point j.
The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 2008
An innovative technique has been developed to localize intruders crossing an acoustic underwater ... more An innovative technique has been developed to localize intruders crossing an acoustic underwater tripwire surveillance system in shallow water chokepoints. In the context of defence against terrorism, an sample application would be the permanent autonomous detection and localization of small underwater vehicles or divers surreptitiously entering a friendly harbor. The proposed method uses forward propagation and produces an acoustic image of the whole underwater entrance of a harbor, scanning and checking for intrusion in the area of interest. It is anticipated that the system could provide a high image rate and improved performance in noisy, reverberating, and changing environment. This paper discusses results obtained from a scaled tank experiment and shows preliminary results at sea.
The protection of marine habitats from human-generated underwater noise is an emerging challenge.... more The protection of marine habitats from human-generated underwater noise is an emerging challenge. Baseline information on sound levels, however, is poorly available, especially in the Mediterranean Sea. To bridge this knowledge gap, the SOUNDSCAPE project ran a basin-scale, cross-national, long-term underwater monitoring in the Northern Adriatic Sea. A network of nine monitoring stations, characterized by different natural conditions and anthropogenic pressures, ensured acoustic data collection from March 2020 to June 2021, including the full lockdown period related to the COVID-19 pandemic. Calibrated stationary recorders featured with an omnidirectional Neptune Sonar D60 Hydrophone recorded continuously 24 h a day (48 kHz sampling rate, 16 bit resolution). Data were analysed to Sound Pressure Levels (SPLs) with a specially developed and validated processing app. Here, we release the dataset composed of 20 and 60 seconds averaged SPLs (one-third octave, base 10) output files and a ...
The goal of the EU project AQUO (www.aquo.eu) is to provide policy makers with practical guidelin... more The goal of the EU project AQUO (www.aquo.eu) is to provide policy makers with practical guidelines, acceptable by shipyards and ship owners, in order to mitigate underwater noise footprint due to shipping, which causes disturbances to marine life. Thanks to a multidisciplinary team of specialists from 8 different European countries, AQUO project results are expected to have significant impacts, contributing meeting the requirements of the MSFD. After a general presentation of the project, this paper presents the methodology followed to assess an underwater noise footprint on marine life due to shipping, taking into account recent results from the project. In particular, focus will be given on the expression of the needs, and by proposed definitions of noise footprint and associated indicators. Special care will be given on the methodology to assess the efficiency of mitigation measures, which are of two types (technical or regulatory). The presentation will conclude with the on-going research and its use to derive the expected final guidelines.
Underwater noise has been significantly raising in the past decades due to an increment of human-... more Underwater noise has been significantly raising in the past decades due to an increment of human-related activities in the oceans such as shipping, industrial activities, seismic explorations, etc. These activities may have adverse effects on fish and mammals, such as communications masking and modifying predator– prey interactions. In order to assess and limit the impact of these, the European Commission approved the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD) which aims to achieve a good environmental status in European waters. Within this directive different environmental challenges are addressed, including the long-term monitoring of underwater noise throughout European waters. EMODnet Physics, one of the European Marine Observation and Data network thematic portals, which is is currently providing easy access to data and products of: wave height and period; temperature and salinity of the water column; wind speed and direction; horizontal velocity of the water column; light atte...
Underwater noise has been significantly raising in the past decades due to an increment of human-... more Underwater noise has been significantly raising in the past decades due to an increment of human-related activities in the oceans such as shipping, industrial activities, seismic explorations, coastal developments, etc. As recognized by the Marine Strategy Framework Directive (MSFD), these activities may have adverse effects on fish and mammals, such as communications masking and modifying predator–prey interactions, or, for the most intense noise sources, direct temporary or permanent physiological damage. In order to assess and limit the impact of these, the European Commission approved the Marine Strategy Framework Directive which aims to achieve a good environmental status in European waters. Within this directive different environmental challenges are addressed, including the long-term monitoring of underwater noise throughout European waters. EMODnet Physics is one of the European Marine Observation and Data network thematic portals, which is currently providing access physica...
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Papers by Thomas Folegot