The Marlborough District Council (MDC) and the National Institute of water and Atmospheric Research (NIWA), undertook data analysis, interpretation and reporting on the acoustic data collected as part of a monitoring project in the greater Cook Strait region.
The purpose of this work was to provide MDC with information on the soundscape characteristics of the Cook Strait region, with particular emphasis on Queen Charlotte Sound / Tōtaranui (QCS) over a six month period, July - December 2016.
Overall, the soundscape of the marine environment is complex. However, quantifying the contribution of different noise sources is essential to assess baseline noise levels, specifically for QCS where vessel traffic is high. This research highlights the potential of using fixed passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) to identify natural, biological and anthropogenic noise within the marine soundscape.
