Modeling cumulative sound exposure along a seismic line to assess the risk of seismic research surveys on marine mammals in the Antarctic Treaty Area.

Zoom to upper 400 m (near-surface sound channel) Numerical modelling of sound propagation is an essential tool to assess the potential risk of air-gun shots on marine mammals and derive exposure zone radii within which certain hearing thresholds are exceeded. Here, the results of a detailed 2.5D finite-difference (FD) modelling study are presented, which takes the sound velocity profile of the water column, interactions with the seafloor and cumulative effects from multiple shots fired along a seismic line into account, approximates the compact airgun clusters deployed by R/V in polar regions by ‘point source equivalents’ and simulates marine mammals as static receivers . It is a contribution to a strategic risk assessment study on the impact of seismic research surveys on marine mammals in the Antarctic Treaty Area . (i) (ii) (iii)