Boom Bang Clash: Symphonies of Disenchantment Bay
A collaboration between the University of Alaska Fairbanks College of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences (UAF CFOS) and the National Park Service’s Southeast Alaska Inventory & Monitoring Network (NPS SEAN)
Project Objective:
To conduct an analysis of new and existing sound recordings from Disenchantment Bay to investigate the biophonic, geophonic, and anthropogenic contributors to the bay’s overall soundscape.
Guiding Questions:
What are the biological, geological, and anthropogenic sources of sound to the Disenchantment Bay soundscape?
How active and diverse are these sources?
Is there a seasonal trend or pattern in the soundscape?
Is there a diel trend or pattern in the soundscape?
What oceanographic or geophonic parameters drive, or correlate with, patterns in biological sound sources to the Disenchantment Bay soundscape?
Does glacier calving or ice cover affect biophony in Disenchantment Bay?
What anthropogenic parameters drive, or correlate with, patterns in biological sound sources to the Disenchantment Bay soundscape?
Does cruise ship traffic affect biophony in Disenchantment Bay?
Program Overview:
This project is part of the Outer Coast Oceanographic Monitoring Program, a pilot program within the National Park Service’s Southeast Alaska Inventory & Monitoring Network. With fieldwork beginning in 2022, the program seeks to uncover the ecosystem structure and controlling processes along the “outer coast,” a pristine fjordal region between and alongside Wrangell St. Elias and Glacier Bay National Parks.
Map of study area along the outer coasts of Wrangell-St. Elias and Glacier Bay national parks and preserves, including oceanographic sampling stations, moorings, and other partner science locations.
Investigators:
Nicole Webster
PhD Student
University of Alaska Fairbanks
nmwebster@alaska.edu
Kate Stafford
Associate Professor
Oregon State University
kate.stafford@oregonstate.edu
Seth Danielson
Associate Professor
University of Alaska Fairbanks
sldanielson@alaska.edu
Recent Activity:
Poster presentation at Ocean Sciences Meeting, February 2024
Poster presentation at Alaska Marine Sciences Symposium, January 2024
Southeast Alaska Inventory & Monitoring Network (SEAN) Technical Committee Meeting, November 2023
Oceanographic research cruise aboard the R/V Island C, May - June 2023; mooring turn-around and data retrieval
Oceanographic research cruise aboard the R/V Woldstad, May - June 2023; initial mooring deployment
Contributors to the Soundscape.
So far, we are finding the fjordal soundscape of Disenchantment Bay to be dominated by iceberg collisions, glacier calving, cruise ships, and smaller vessels. Notably, no cetacean vocalizations have yet been detected.
The Mooring.
A Railroad Wheel
B EdgeTech Acoustic Release
C SBE37 MicroCAT
D SBE37 MicroCAT
E SoundTrap 600 HF (0.1-192 kHz)
F ADCP Float with MicroCAT
G SBE37 MicroCAT
H ECOPAR + ECOTriplet
I Near Surface Float
* Black dots represent thermistors
Sacrificial Anchor
Retrieval System
CTD
CTD
Passive Acoustic Recorder
Current Velocities + CTD
CTD
PAR, chlorophyll, fluorescence, backscattering
Recovery Beacon
Mooring design by
Pete Shipton & Seth Danielson,
UAF Oceans Lab
Recent Presentations.
Webster, N.M., Danielson, S.L., Stafford, K.M., Aguilar-Islas, A.M., Questel, J.M., and Womble, J.N. “The Inception of Two Long-Term Passive Acoustic Monitoring Programs in the Gulf of Alaska.” Poster presentation, Alaska Marine Science Symposium, Anchorage, AK, January 29, 2024.
Guiding publications for this project include:
Castellote, M., Stafford, K. M., Neff, A. D., and Lucey, W. (2015). “Acoustic monitoring and prey association for beluga whale, Delphinapterus leucas, and harbor porpoise, Phocoena phocoena, off two river mouths in Yakutat Bay, Alaska,” MFR, 77, 1–10. doi:10.7755/MFR.77.1.1
Castellote, M., Leeney, R. H., O’Corry-Crowe, G., Lauhakangas, R., Kovacs, K. M., Lucey, W., Krasnova, V., et al. (2013). “Monitoring white whales (Delphinapterus leucas) with echolocation loggers,” Polar Biol, 36, 493–509. doi:10.1007/s00300-012-1276-2
(Click on the image above to open a PDF copy of the poster)
