Arctic Acoustic Environment | International Quiet Ocean Experiment (IQOE)

Arctic Acoustic Environment

This working group will be responsible for achieving IQOE goals in relation to Arctic systems, as described in the terms of reference below.

Co-chairs

Philippe Blondel (UK) and Hanne Sagen (Norway)

Other Members

Marie-Noelle Houssais (France), Peter Mikhalevsky (USA), Jukka Pajala (Finland), Roberto Racca (Canada), Jaroslav Tegowski (Poland), Outi Tervo (Greenland), Karolin Thomisch (Germany), Jakob Tougaard (Denmark), and Alexander Vedenev (Russia)

Terms of Reference

The IQOE Working Group on Arctic Acoustic Environments will conduct the following activities:

Identify locations of existing acoustic receivers in the Arctic Ocean
Identify potential sources of historic acoustic data from the Arctic Ocean
Inform the Data Management and Standards and Intercalibrations working groups about historic and current data sources in the Arctic Ocean
Compile existing acoustic data to determine whether a time series can be created and report to Data Management and Data Access WG
Create a bibliography or synthesis of research papers on the effects of sound on organisms in the Arctic Ocean
Identify data/research conducted on the effects of permafrost and gas-saturated sediments on Arctic Ocean soundscapes
Identify an ideal receiver array (location, number of receivers, types of receivers) to observe the baseline acoustic environment for the Arctic Ocean
Identify ongoing going and planned experiments for which passive acoustics are planned or could be added
Conduct/Support endorsement processes for passive acoustic projects with the Arctic Council

Poster for OceanObs Conference

Virtual Conference on Acoustics in the Arctic Ocean

Status

IQOE is in its 9th year as a 10-year project and continues to implement of its Science Plan (available here). IQOE has successfully coordinated a variety of activities in ocean acoustics and bioacoustics through IQOE working groups on the use of acoustics to assess biodiversity, the importance of acoustic observations in the Arctic Ocean, standards for reporting ocean acoustic and bioacoustic data for IQOE, software for making acoustic observations comparable worldwide, and recommendations for implementation of an Ocean Sound Essential Ocean Variable for the Global Ocean Observing System. IQOE progress has been documented since June 2018 through IQOE Newsletters and since the beginning of the project through other products. IQOE identified 2020 as the Year of the Quiet Ocean because of evidence that ocean sound decreased because of decreases in human activities in the ocean due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Next Steps

Activities in 2024 will include actions to help implement the Ocean Sound Essential Ocean Variable Implementation Plan; continuation of new activities on low-cost ocean acoustic observing systems and expansion of the Open Portal to Underwater Sound (OPUS), implementation of the Global Library of Underwater Biological Sounds, sponsorship of the second World Ocean Passive Acoustic Monitoring Day; and meetings of IQOE working groups and Science Committee.