Underwater Acoustics for Biologists and Conservation Managers:
A comprehensive tutorial designed for environmental professionals
Summary:
This three-day course is designed for biologists, and conservation managers, who wish to enhance their understanding of the underlying principles of underwater and engineering acoustics needed to evaluate the impact of anthropogenic noise on marine life. This course provides a framework for making objective assessments of the impact of various types of sound sources. Critical topics are introduced through clear and readily understandable heuristic models and graphics.
Dr. William T. Ellison is president of Marine Acoustics, Inc., Middletown, RI. Dr. Ellison has over 45 years of field and laboratory experience in underwater acoustics spanning sonar design, ASW tactics, software models and biological field studies. He is a graduate of the Naval Academy and holds the degrees of MSME and Ph.D. from MIT. He has published numerous papers in the field of acoustics and is a co-author of the 2007 monograph Marine Mammal Noise Exposure Criteria: Initial Scientific Recommendations, as well as a member of the ASA Technical Working Group on the impact of noise on Fish and Turtles. He is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America and a Fellow of the Explorers Club.
Dr. Orest Diachok is a Marine Biophysicist at the Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory. Dr. Diachok has over 40 years experience in acoustical oceanography, and has published numerous scientific papers. His career has included tours with the Naval Oceanographic Office, Naval Research Laboratory and NATO Undersea Research Centre, where he served as Chief Scientist. During the past 16 years his work has focused on estimation of biological parameters from acoustic measurements in the ocean. During this period he also wrote the required Environmental Assessments for his experiments. Dr. Diachok is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America.
What are the key characteristics of man-made sound sources and usage of correct metrics
How to evaluate the resultant sound field from impulsive, coherent and continuous sources
How are system characteristics measured and calibrated
What animal characteristics are important for assessing both impact and requirements for monitoring/and mitigation
Capabilities of passive and active monitoring and mitigation systems
From this course you will obtain the knowledge to perform basic assessments of the impact of anthropogenic sources on marine life in specific ocean environments, and to understand the uncertainties in your assessments.
Course Outline:
Introduction. Review of the ocean anthropogenic noise issue (public opinion, legal findings and regulatory approach), current state of knowledge, and key references summarizing scientific findings to date.
Acoustics of the Ocean Environment Sound Propagation, Ambient Noise Characteristics
Overview of Issues Related to Impact of Sound on Marine Wildlife Marine Wildlife of Interest (mammals, turtles and fish), Behavioral Disturbance and Potential for Injury, Acoustic Masking, Biological Significance, and Cumulative Effects. Seasonal Distribution and Behavioral Databases for Marine Wildlife.
Assessment of the Impact of Anthropogenic Sound. Source characteristics (spectrum, level, movement, duty cycle), Propagation characteristics (site specific character of water column and bathymetry measurements and database), Ambient Noise, Determining sound as received by the wildlife, absolute level and signal to noise, multipath propagation and spectral spread. Appropriate metrics and how to model, measure and evaluate. Issues for laboratory studies.
Bioacoustics of Marine Wildlife. Hearing Threshold, TTS and PTS, Vocalizations and Masking, Target Strength, Volume Scattering and Clutter.
Monitoring and Mitigation Requirements. Passive Devices (fixed and towed systems), Active Devices, Matching Device Capabilities to Environmental Requirements (examples of passive and active localization, long term monitoring and fish exposure testing)
Outstanding Research Issues in Marine Acoustics.
Tuition:
Tuition for this three-day course is $1590 per person at one of our scheduled public courses. Onsite pricing is available. Please call us at 410-956-8805 or send an email to ati@ATIcourses.com.
Dr. William T. Ellison is president of Marine Acoustics, Inc., Middletown, RI. Dr. Ellison has over 45 years of field and laboratory experience in underwater acoustics spanning sonar design, ASW tactics, software models and biological field studies. He is a graduate of the Naval Academy and holds the degrees of MSME and Ph.D. from MIT. He has published numerous papers in the field of acoustics and is a co-author of the 2007 monograph Marine Mammal Noise Exposure Criteria: Initial Scientific Recommendations, as well as a member of the ASA Technical Working Group on the impact of noise on Fish and Turtles. He is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America and a Fellow of the Explorers Club.
Dr. Orest Diachok is a Marine Biophysicist at the Johns Hopkins University, Applied Physics Laboratory. Dr. Diachok has over 40 years experience in acoustical oceanography, and has published numerous scientific papers. His career has included tours with the Naval Oceanographic Office, Naval Research Laboratory and NATO Undersea Research Centre, where he served as Chief Scientist. During the past 16 years his work has focused on estimation of biological parameters from acoustic measurements in the ocean. During this period he also wrote the required Environmental Assessments for his experiments. Dr. Diachok is a Fellow of the Acoustical Society of America.
