Olympic National Park: Acoustic monitoring report 2021
Pipkin AR. 2021. Olympic National Park: Acoustic monitoring report 2021. Natural Resource Report. NPS/NRSS/NSNSD/NRR—2021/2313. National Park Service. Fort Collins, Colorado. https://doi.org/10.36967/nrr-2287637
Olympic National Park (OLYM) has been collecting acoustic data to monitor the soundscape since 2010. A previous acoustic report (Lee & Macdonald 2016) provides park managers with initial winter acoustic baseline conditions. This report includes analysis of six sites throughout OLYM over four periods, summer 2010, winter 2010–2011, summer 2011 and winter 2011–2012. This additional baseline data provides information about the park acoustic environment and can be used to understand future changes and their potential to disturb park resources and values. In each deployment, sound pressure level (SPL) is measured continuously every second by a calibrated, Type 1, Larson Davis 831 sound level meter. In this document, “sound pressure level” refers to broadband (12.5 Hz–20 kHz), A-weighted, 1-second time averaged sound level (LAeq, 1s), hereafter referred to as “sound level.” Sound levels are measured on a logarithmic scale relative to the reference sound pressure for atmospheric sources, 20 µPa. The logarithmic scale is a useful way to express the wide range of sound pressures perceived by the human ear. Sound levels are reported in decibels (dB). A-weighting is applied to sound levels to account for the response of the human ear (Harris, 1998). To approximate human hearing sensitivity, A-weighting discounts sounds below 1 kHz and above 6 kHz.
- Type
- Published Report
- Authors
- Pipkin, Ashley
- Date of Issue
- 2021-10
- Publisher
- National Park Service
- DOI
- 10.36967/nrr-2287637
- Units
- NRSS , NSNSD , OLYM
- Keywords
- Acoustic Environment, Acoustic Monitoring, Ambient Sound, Natural Sound, Sound Levels, Soundscape
- Subjects
- Ecological Framework: Landscapes | Soundscape | Soundscape