Underwater noise sources in Fremantle inner harbour: dolphins, pile driving and traffic.

Underwater noise measurements were made over a period of 5 months within the Fremantle Inner Harbour (from April 1st-July 2nd, and July 26th-August 20th, 2010). Noise was recoded from a range of sources, including vessel traffic which was intense at periods, noise from trains and vehicles passing ov...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Salgado-Kent, Chandra, McCauley, Robert, Parnum, Iain, Gavrilov, Alexander
Other Authors: Terrance McMinn
Format: Conference Paper
Published: Acoustical Society of Australia 2012
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.acoustics.asn.au/conference_proceedings/AAS2012/papers/p94.pdf
http://hdl.handle.net/20.500.11937/39066
Description
Summary:Underwater noise measurements were made over a period of 5 months within the Fremantle Inner Harbour (from April 1st-July 2nd, and July 26th-August 20th, 2010). Noise was recoded from a range of sources, including vessel traffic which was intense at periods, noise from trains and vehicles passing over a nearby bridge, machinery noise from regular operation of the Fremantle Port, and pile driving (either vibratory pile driving, impact pile driving, or both) recorded during wharf construction over approximately 57 days, (mainly during the months of May, July, and August). All sources recorded are common to a busy and expanding port. Noise levels in the port during periods when pile driving was not occurring were typically between 110 and 140 dB re 1μPa2 (mean squared pressure). Vibratory pile and impact pile driving increased noise levels within the Inner Harbour. Biological noises were also detected in the recordings. Dominant biological sources were snapping shrimp, followed by mulloway (Argyrosomus japonicus) chorusing in early to mid-April, and grunts from other fish species detected throughout the recordings. Indo-Pacific bottlenose dolphin (Tursiops aduncus) whistles were also detected in the noise logger recordings.