The increasing need to observe and monitor underwater sound for environmental and industrial purposes is faced with the challenge of the vastness of the marine space, the diversity of sound sources and receivers, and the high costs of acquiring useful data. Improved methods are needed to respond to legal and overarching international recommendations and prescriptions, to observe ocean sound and provide meaningful information to better manage anthropogenic noise. Underwater sound can provide cost-efficient information for the assessment of marine mammal populations, the detection of fish reproduction areas, the detection of greenhouse gas seeps from pipelines and deep-sea carbon storage, gasification of methane clathrates, adverse meteorological conditions, detection of low-frequency seismic events, ice-cracking, ocean basin sound-velocity tomography and acoustic communication.

Scientific and technical progress, from sensor technology to modelling, from the study of soundscapes and aquatic fauna, all contribute to a better understanding of sound in the ocean. Collecting and processing data remains key for this understanding. In situ observing systems provide an opportunity to produce long-term time series and identify relevant events. Large amounts of data also call for automation, for feature extraction and event detection, such as the evolution of soniferous life in the ocean, ecoacoustic trends, geological events, or underwater noise.

This Research Topic calls for contributions on the following topics:

• Anthropogenic noise & other environmental sounds
This topic includes a broad range of underwater sound observations, observing systems and applications, from ambient sound to undesired sources such as anthropogenic sound, soundscape studies, methods, scientific experiments, environmental impact assessment monitoring programmes for local, national or international regulations.
• Acoustics for studying marine geophysics
This topic calls for studies, methods, science, systems related to the observation of sound for geophysical sciences, leading to a better understanding of tectonic, volcanic phenomena, including the study and observation of cryogenic sound sources. Advances in technologies and methods, current and future observing systems are of interest.
• Bioacoustics
This topic calls for studies, methods, science, systems related to the observation of biological sounds, from acquisition to acoustic processing methods and new tools, leading to better monitoring and/or understanding of sound-producing life forms. Advances in technologies and methods, current and future observing systems are also of interest.
• New discoveries and applications from ocean sound observing
This topic ranges from new measurements or results from sound observation in new areas, to the discovery of new sound sources, and new applications, to advance knowledge or industrial.
• Technologies for underwater sound observing, from acoustic data acquisition to products
Of high interest are new observing systems, sensors, software that demonstrate or improve the capacity of observing systems, fixed or mobile, to monitor ocean sound, description of new data products or services derived from ocean sound observing are also of high interest.
• Others
Advances that have not been identified in the above topics but are closely related to ocean sound observing may also be considered.

Submit your idea

Impact

Frontiers in Marine Science

Impact