Acoustic Measurements in Cook Inlet Alaska During August 2001
June 14, 2003
Assessment of Cook Inlet noise and potential impacts to the Cook Inlet beluga whale population.
The objective of this work is to quantify the acoustic environment that beluga whales may be subjected to in Cook Inlet. Underwater and in-air recordings were made in locations both adjacent to industrial activities and away from human-made sounds. The recordings were analyzed to document both broadband and one-third octave band sound pressure level and spectral characteristics. Recordings of the same sound at different distances provided information on transmission loss, both in-air and underwater.
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Susanna B. Blackwell and Charles R. Green, Jr. Prepared for National Marine Fisheries Service Protected Resources Division (Revised July 2003).