The acoustics group of the Department of Earth and Environmental Sciences (DISAT) of the University of Milan Bicocca as part of the Deuteronoise project, in collaboration with The Acoustics Team of the Human-Environment Research Dept. of Salle University, will focus mainly on the acoustic aspects.
The first task the DISAT group is engaged, regards the monitoring of noise at sea. In particular it will have to carry out acoustic surveys to characterize the Upper Adriatic and the North Sea off the Norwegian coast. For the first of these basins, two areas were acoustically characterized: the Venice Lagoon and an area in front of the coast extending from Venice to Trieste. In collaboration with the University of Padua and CNR, the DISAT group is identifying, within the selected marine areas, monitoring sites characterized by silent and noisy environments. The difference in terms of noise pollution is not only necessary to calibrate an acoustic simulation model but also to analyze the response of the deuterostome to different noise exposures.
Before carrying out the measurement campaigns, the DISAT group selected the most suitable instruments and experimental layout for both the measurement of sound pressure levels and particle speed. The instrumentation and methodology selected for measurements in the Northern Adriatic will also be used for measurements in the North Sea, near the city of Bergen, after the identification of the optimal measurement sites in collaboration with the University of Bergen.
During the acoustic measurements, the passages of ships near the acoustic sensors will also be acquired. Data on the ships’ position are transmitted by automatic identification systems (AIS) and collected by a receiving device designed and built by the DISAT group specifically for this project. The characteristic noise generated by the passage of ships will also be reproduced in a controlled environment. For this purpose, the DISAT group has selected the most suitable system for the reproduction and acquisition of sound in laboratory tanks.
The “in vitro” experimentation will be carried out on the selected species by the project partners of the University of Milan, University of Padua, University of Genoa, University of Bergen and Anton Dohrn National Zoological Station of Naples.