Abstract:
The relationship between omnidirectional ambient noise measurements and wind speed has been investigated at several shallow-water sites. Forthe sites included in this analysis, water depths varied from about 80 to over 1200 m. Both curve fitting and conditional sampling have been used to reveal the correlation between noise level and wind speed. Other factors that played a role in determining the observed wind speed dependence were the local shipping density and transmission loss characteristics. For the sites included in this analysis, estimated shipping densities varied from almost zero to as high as 27 ships per square degree. The discussion will address the effects of water depth, shipping density, and transmission loss at each site.