These data represent the raw passive acoustic data collected from Acoustic and Environmental Observation Network (AEON) in the U.S. Northwest Atlantic, which was developed and deployed in February 2021. This network of five observation nodes complements existing oceanographic monitoring infrastructure in the Gulf of Maine. The network provides simultaneous, long-term monitoring of soundscapes and multiple acoustically-relevant parameters such as marine mammal behavior and prey concentration at key locations where changes in the Labrador and Gulf Stream currents are projected to affect the Gulf of Maine.

Passive acoustic monitoring of the ocean ambient sound field is a critical aspect of NOAA's mandate for ocean and coastal stewardship. This includes detecting and characterizing: (1) sounds produced and used by living marine resources (e.g., endangered marine mammals); (2) natural sources of noise from physical oceanographic processes; and (3) anthropogenic noise sources that contribute to the overall ocean noise environment. Noise generated by anthropogenic activities (especially commercial shipping and seismic oil & gas exploration) is increasingly being recognized as a potential threat to marine mammals which are protected in the U.S. by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act. Current scientific data suggest that increased ambient noise levels impact marine mammals by hindering communication (Hatch et al. 2012), altering communication behavior (Parks et al. 2013), altering locomotive behavior (Pirotta et al. 2013), and inducing stress (Rolland et al. 2012). Additional concerns associated with the degraded acoustic quality of diverse habitats broaden these concerns to include possible repercussions for fish and invertebrate species, many of which NOAA manages as commercially-harvested, protects as resources within sanctuaries, or studies as key elements to sustaining healthy ecosystems. For these reasons it is important for science-based regulatory agencies including NOAA to monitor long-term trends and changes in the ambient sound field. The objective of the proposed project is to establish a network of initially ten ocean noise reference stations in U.S. waters to monitor long-term changes and trends in the underwater ambient sound field (McDonald et al. 2006). Our plan is to deploy identical autonomous acoustic recording systems developed in-house at PMEL at each reference station to ensure proper calibration and consistency of the collected data sets.

The North Carolina Renewable Ocean Energy Program (NCROEP) is evaluating the feasibility of extracting energy from the Gulf Stream off the coast of Cape Hatteras, North Carolina, USA. Characterizing the soundscape in this region is one of the environmental and ecological assessment goals of the program. To accomplish this, the UNC Coastal Studies Institute deploys a mooring on the continental slope off Cape Hatteras. The mooring is equipped with a hydrophone, a CTD, and an Acoustic Doppler Current Profiler (ADCP). To request ancillary data (CTD, ADCP), contact Dr. Lindsay Dubbs.

This record represents the individual vessel events detected from raw passive acoustic data. Events are identified from the long-term spectral average (LTSAs) created for each site with a 5 s, 48 kHz resolution. The LTSA is analyzed in blocks where the calibrated power spectral density estimates are averaged in user-defined low, medium and high frequency bands. These data were recorded at SanctSound Site MB03_04 between October 02, 2020 and June 01, 2021.

This record represents the individual vessel events detected from raw passive acoustic data. Events are identified from the long-term spectral average (LTSAs) created for each site with a 5 s, 48 kHz resolution. The LTSA is analyzed in blocks where the calibrated power spectral density estimates are averaged in user-defined low, medium and high frequency bands. These data were recorded at SanctSound Site MB03_03 between April 11, 2020 and September 21, 2020.

This record represents the individual vessel events detected from raw passive acoustic data. Events are identified from the long-term spectral average (LTSAs) created for each site with a 5 s, 48 kHz resolution. The LTSA is analyzed in blocks where the calibrated power spectral density estimates are averaged in user-defined low, medium and high frequency bands. These data were recorded at SanctSound Site MB02_09 between August 11, 2021 and December 28, 2021.

This record represents the individual vessel events detected from raw passive acoustic data. Events are identified from the long-term spectral average (LTSAs) created for each site with a 5 s, 48 kHz resolution. The LTSA is analyzed in blocks where the calibrated power spectral density estimates are averaged in user-defined low, medium and high frequency bands. These data were recorded at SanctSound Site MB02_04 between December 21, 2019 and March 22, 2020.

This record represents the individual vessel events detected from raw passive acoustic data. Events are identified from the long-term spectral average (LTSAs) created for each site with a 5 s, 48 kHz resolution. The LTSA is analyzed in blocks where the calibrated power spectral density estimates are averaged in user-defined low, medium and high frequency bands. These data were recorded at SanctSound Site MB02_03 between August 23, 2019 and December 20, 2019.

This record represents the individual vessel events detected from raw passive acoustic data. Events are identified from the long-term spectral average (LTSAs) created for each site with a 5 s, 48 kHz resolution. The LTSA is analyzed in blocks where the calibrated power spectral density estimates are averaged in user-defined low, medium and high frequency bands. These data were recorded at SanctSound Site MB03_02 between June 11, 2019 and January 25, 2020.

This record represents the individual vessel events detected from raw passive acoustic data. Events are identified from the long-term spectral average (LTSAs) created for each site with a 5 s, 48 kHz resolution. The LTSA is analyzed in blocks where the calibrated power spectral density estimates are averaged in user-defined low, medium and high frequency bands. These data were recorded at SanctSound Site MB01_09 between August 11, 2021 and November 21, 2021.