2023_programme: Shipping sound maps in European seas: past, present and future

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  • Session: 20. Underwater noise in the EU Marine Strategy Framework Directive: monitoring and impacts on marine ecosystems
    Organiser(s): Jakob Tougaard, Aristides Prospathopoulos and Emmanuel Skarsoulis
  • Lecture: Shipping sound maps in European seas: past, present and future
    Paper ID: 1897
    Author(s): Ainslie Michael, Bosschers Johan, Daniel Joanna, Hermans Marjolein, Koldenhof Yvonne, Lloyd Thomas, MacGillivray Alex, Pace Federica, Racca Roberto, Schuster Max, Sertlek Ozkan, Wood Michael
    Presenter: Ainslie Michael
    Abstract: We describe a method for producing underwater sound maps for shipping traffic and apply it in European seas, including the Baltic, Black, Mediterranean and North Seas, and the North-east Atlantic Ocean. The computational framework consists of a state of the art source model, a parabolic equation propagation model and a sound mapping tool. Processed Automatic Identification System records and ship particulars data are taken as inputs to the source model. The source model has been developed using ship design and operational details, making use of thousands of measurements from the Enhancing Cetacean Habitat and Observation (ECHO) Program, and is applicable to ship types covering the majority of merchant vessels present in European seas. The model allows the effect of changes in design and operating parameters on sound levels to be investigated, thus enabling both hindcasting (2016 to present) and forecasting (present to 2050) for assessing different operational and technical mitigation measures for reducing underwater sound levels. The output will provide both temporal and spatial information on the generation of continuous underwater sound from ships and will help understand how the sound levels are changing in various areas and identify the main parameters contributing to such changes. Example maps are presented for 63 and 125 Hz, the frequencies selected for assessing environmental status regarding continuous sound in the context of the European Union’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive.
  • Corresponding author: Dr Michael Ainslie
    Affiliation: JASCO Applied Sciences
    Country: Germany
    e-mail:

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