Underwater sound pressure and particle motion (acceleration, velocity, and displacement) from recreational swimmers, divers, surfers, and kayakers

2018 ◽  
Vol 143 (3) ◽  
pp. 1712-1712
Author(s):  
Christine Erbe ◽  
Miles Parsons ◽  
Alec J. Duncan ◽  
Klaus Lucke ◽  
Alexander Gavrilov ◽  
...  
Sensors ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 21 (8) ◽  
pp. 2687
Author(s):  
Shu Liu ◽  
Qi Li ◽  
Dajing Shang ◽  
Rui Tang ◽  
Qingming Zhang

Underwater noise produced by rainfall is an important component of underwater ambient noise. For example, the existence of rainfall noise causes strong disturbances to sonar performance. The underwater noise produced by a single raindrop is the basis of rainfall noise. Therefore, it is necessary to study the associated underwater noise when drops strike the water surface. Previous research focused primarily on the sound pressure and frequency spectrum of underwater noise from single raindrops, but the study on its sound energy is insufficient. The purpose of this paper is to propose a method for predicting the acoustic energy generated by raindrops of any diameter. Here, a formula was derived to calculate the underwater sound energy radiated by single raindrops based on a dipole radiation pattern. A series of experiments were conducted to measure the underwater sound energy in a 15 m × 9 m × 6 m reverberation tank filled with tap water. The analysis of the acoustic energy characteristics and conversion efficiency from kinetic to acoustic energy helped develop the model to predict the average underwater sound energy radiated by single raindrops. Using this model, the total underwater sound energy of all raindrops during a rainfall event can be predicted based on the drop size distribution.


2016 ◽  
Vol 74 (3) ◽  
pp. 635-651 ◽  
Author(s):  
Anthony D. Hawkins ◽  
Arthur N. Popper

Increasing attention is being paid to the ecological consequences of underwater noise generated by human activities such as shipping and maritime industries including, but not limited to, oil and gas exploration and extraction, sonar systems, dredging and the construction of offshore renewable energy devices. There is particular concern over the extension of these activities into previously undeveloped areas of the oceans, including Polar Regions and areas of coral reef habitat. Most of the concern by regulators and others has focussed upon effects upon marine mammals and other protected species. However, examining the impacts upon the overall ecology of affected habitats is also important as it may be dominated by effects upon the far larger biomasses of fishes and invertebrates, which do not have the same degree of legal protection. Many of these assessments of the impact of noise on fishes and invertebrates have overlooked important issues, including the sensitivity of a substantial proportion of these species to particle motion rather than sound pressure. Attempts have been made to establish sound exposure criteria setting regulatory limits to the levels of noise in terms of effects upon mortality levels, injury to tissues, hearing abilities, behaviour, and physiology. However, such criteria have almost exclusively been developed for marine mammals. Criteria for fishes and invertebrates have often had to be assumed, or they have been derived from poorly designed and controlled studies. Moreover, the metrics employed to describe sounds from different sources have often been inappropriate, especially for fishes, and invertebrates, as they have been based on sound pressure rather than particle motion. In addition, the sound propagation models employed to assess the distances over which effects might occur have seldom been validated by actual measurements and are especially poor at dealing with transmission under shallow water conditions, close to or within the seabed, or at the surface. Finally, impacts on fish and invertebrate populations are often unknown and remain unassessed. This paper considers the problems of assessing the impact of noise upon fishes and invertebrates and the assessment procedures that need to be implemented to protect these animals and the marine ecosystems of which they form an integral part. The paper also suggests directions for future research and planning that, if implemented, will provide for a far better scientific and regulatory basis for dealing with effects of noise on aquatic life.


1998 ◽  
Vol 76 (1) ◽  
pp. 134-143 ◽  
Author(s):  
John F Barimo ◽  
Michael L Fine

The swim bladder of the oyster toadfish, Opsanus tau, has a distinctive heart shape with two anterior protrusions separated by a midline cleft. The lateral surfaces contain intrinsic muscles that meet at the caudal midline, but the rostromedial surface is muscle-free. We hypothesize that swim-bladder design represents a compromise between opposing tendencies toward (i) an omnidirectional sound source that would optimize a male's opportunity to attract females from any direction, and (ii) a directional sound source that would shield the nearby ears during sound production. To determine if the directionality of toadfish sound is consistent with this hypothesis, boatwhistle advertisement calls of individually identified males were recorded in the York River, Virginia, by means of two calibrated hydrophones and a waterproof recording system: one hydrophone was fixed 1 m in front of the fish and the second was roving. Boatwhistles in the horizontal plane propagated in a modified omnidirectional pattern that was bilaterally symmetrical. The mean sound pressure was 126 dB re: 1 µPa at 0°. The sound pressure level decreased by approximately 1 dB at ±45°, after which levels increased to 180°, averaging 3-6 dB greater behind (mean 130 dB) than directly in front of the fish. This pattern is consistent with the hypothesis that sound energy is reduced at the fish's ears. The source level and fundamental frequency of the boatwhistle were highly stereotyped, with coefficients of variation averaging less than 1%, and duration was more variable, with a coefficient of variation of 8%. Grunt levels overlapped but were slightly lower than boatwhistle values.


1982 ◽  
Vol 98 (1) ◽  
pp. 49-66
Author(s):  
T. E. Hetherington ◽  
R. E. Lombard

A standing wave tube apparatus was used to determine the biophysical basis of underwater hearing sensitivity in 3 species of Rana and in Xenopus laevis. A speaker inside the base of a vertical, water-filled 3 m steel pipe produced standing waves. Pressure and particle motion were measured with a hydrophone and geophone respectively and were spatially 90 degrees out of phase along the length of the tube. Microphonic responses were recorded from the inner ear of frogs lowered through pressure and particle motion maxima and minima. The air-filled lungs of whole frogs produced distortions of the sound field. Preparations of heads with only an air-filled middle ear produced little distortion and showed clear pressure tracking at sound intensities 10-20 dB above hearing thresholds from 200-3000 Hz. Filling the middle ear with water decreased or abolished microphonic responses. Severing the stapes reduced responses except at certain frequencies below about 1000 Hz which varied with body size and likely represent resonant frequencies of the middle ear cavity. We conclude that the frog species examined respond to underwater sound pressure from about 200-3000 Hz with the middle ear cavity responsible for pressure transduction.


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