Arctic Ocean Hydroacoustics

Summary

A study by Los Alamos National Laboratory analyzed hydroacoustic data from the Arctic's Beaufort Sea to understand the impact of climate change on acoustic monitoring. Using ice-tethered profiler data (2004-2023) and passive acoustic recordings from the NRS-01 hydrophone (October 2014-September 2022), researchers found that the strengthening Beaufort Duct focuses acoustic energy, with first arrival times differing by only 0.13 seconds between 2004-2008 and 2019-2023 periods, and most energy arriving within 5 seconds in the latter period. Analysis of 97 submarine earthquakes (up to M5.3, 10.7 km depth) showed T-phase detection rates of 53% and P-phase rates of 31%, with 84% of events exceeding 4 dB in power spectral density being detected. Future work, supported by LANL LDRD funding for FY 2025-2027, will integrate acoustic modeling with an Earth System Model to predict future changes in the acoustic environment.

Key Facts

Source Document

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