A computational assessment of the sensitivity of ambient noise level to ocean acidification.
Low-frequency sound propagating through the ocean is partly attenuated by the pH-dependent boric acid relaxation process. Thus, the uptake of increased levels of atmospheric CO(2) by seawater, leading to reduced pH, has potential to change ambient noise levels. An important question is: By how much? Here, changes in ambient noise level due to hypothetical changes in seawater pH have been calculated at three receiver locations for years 1960 and 2250. The calculations used a range dependent propagation model that was applied to realistic environments based on climatology. Model results indicate changes in noise levels less than 0.21 dB are anticipated.
Joseph
John E
JE
Department of Oceanography, Naval Postgraduate School, Monterey, California 93943, USA. jejoseph@nps.edu
Chiu
Ching-Sang
CS
D000162:Acoustics; D002245:Carbon Dioxide / Q000737:chemistry; D002980:Climate; D003198:Computer Simulation; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008962:Models, Theoretical; D009038:Motion; D009622:Noise; D009792:Oceans and Seas; D012623:Seawater / Q000737:chemistry*; D013018:Sound Spectrography
D002245:Carbon Dioxide