Comparing ocean ambient sound measurements and modeling techniques around Newfoundland’s seismic surveys

To assess the impact of anthropogenic noise on groundfish off Newfoundland’s coast, JASCO Applied Sciences worked with Fisheries and Oceans Canada to model the ocean soundscape during months of high fishing and seismic survey activity from 2015 to 2021. The study area included key fishing grounds on the Grand Banks where commercial groundfish harvests overlap with seismic exploration activities by the offshore oil and gas industry. The project used ARTEMIA, a soundscape mapping model, to simulate underwater sound from fishing and commercial vessels, seismic surveys, and wind. ARTEMIA integrated data from vessel tracking, sound emission specifications, and meteorological conditions to predict marine soundscape contributions. Sound propagation was modeled in octave bands from 16–512 Hz using the parabolic equation method, providing insights at unprecedented scales and fine spatial resolutions. The model’s predictions were validated against measured sound pressure levels (SPL) from JASCO’s acoustic recorders, showing good agreement with median differences below 4 dB and standard deviations below 1 dB for some years. In this work, we discuss the factors influencing agreement between modeled and measured data, including cases of agreement, challenges in specific scenarios, and discrepancies due to inaccuracies in the ambient model at low and high wind speeds. These insights help refine the understanding of soundscape dynamics and improve the accuracy of soundscape models. [Work supported by Fisheries and Oceans Canada.]