ASA 129th Meeting - Washington, DC - 1995 May 30 .. Jun 06

4aUW7. Low-frequency ambient noise: Long time series and statistics.

Keith R. Curtis

Bruce M. Howe

Shaun Leach

Appl. Phys. Lab., Univ. of Washington, Seattle, WA 98105

Low-frequency ocean ambient noise spectra have been collected at U.S. Navy Pacific SOSUS sites during the last year as a background component of the Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate (ATOC) Program. Preliminary results are presented. Three-minute averaged spectra were obtained every 5 min; only the relative noise level as a function of frequency is presented because (at this time) unknown offsets prevent determination of absolute levels. One important statistic estimated is the probability as a function of frequency that the noise level exceeds a specified spectral level. [Work supported by the Strategic Environmental Research and Development Program through ARPA.]