NOAA Vents Acoustic Monitoring Program

The Acoustic Monitoring Project of the VENTS Program has performed continuous monitoring of ocean noise since August, 1991 using the U.S. Navy SOund SUrveillance System (SOSUS) network and autonomous underwater hydrophones. Areas of study include: Ocean seismicity - Hydroacoustic monitoring allows the detection and precise location of small submarine earthquakes and volcanic activity. Bioacoustics - Underwater acoustic methods are being used to study the distribution of large whales in the open oceans. Environmental noise - Studies of the effect of noise, both man-made and natural, on marine life are being planned with NOAA Fisheries researchers.