Soundscape Research - Alaska
Kenai NWR - November 2011-April 2012
During the winter of 2011, I spent 5 months working on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge examining the effects of snowmachine disturbance on moose populations. Daily field work involved snowmaching, hiking, or snowshoeing to remote locations to set-up, take down, and provide maintenance to recording devices called Remote Environmental Assessment Laboratory (R.E.A.L.). Tracking devices were also placed under the snow to record snowmachine activity on different trails and moose fecal samples were collected to test for stress levels.
While recreational activities, such as snowmachining, aren't typically allowed on Wildlife Refuges, exceptions are made for the purpose of subsistence hunting. Trappers, hunters, and ice fisherman all take advantage of the natural resources available in this area. Recording devices were spread out over the 1.9 million acre refuge, recording not only the hum of snowmachines, but also low flying aircraft, birds, and occasionally, pure silence. This project has received a great deal of criticism from local snowmachine clubs and other snowmachine enthusiasts. The refuge isn't trying to shut down snowmachines in the refuge, but understanding how anthropogenic (man-made) noise affects the refuge is critical to the management and conservation of the refuge and the resources it holds.
Click here for a PDF presentation regarding updated information on this research.
During the winter of 2011, I spent 5 months working on the Kenai National Wildlife Refuge examining the effects of snowmachine disturbance on moose populations. Daily field work involved snowmaching, hiking, or snowshoeing to remote locations to set-up, take down, and provide maintenance to recording devices called Remote Environmental Assessment Laboratory (R.E.A.L.). Tracking devices were also placed under the snow to record snowmachine activity on different trails and moose fecal samples were collected to test for stress levels.
While recreational activities, such as snowmachining, aren't typically allowed on Wildlife Refuges, exceptions are made for the purpose of subsistence hunting. Trappers, hunters, and ice fisherman all take advantage of the natural resources available in this area. Recording devices were spread out over the 1.9 million acre refuge, recording not only the hum of snowmachines, but also low flying aircraft, birds, and occasionally, pure silence. This project has received a great deal of criticism from local snowmachine clubs and other snowmachine enthusiasts. The refuge isn't trying to shut down snowmachines in the refuge, but understanding how anthropogenic (man-made) noise affects the refuge is critical to the management and conservation of the refuge and the resources it holds.
Click here for a PDF presentation regarding updated information on this research.
Denali NP - May-August 2012
Following my work on the Kenai NWR, I pursued my interest for soundscape ecology through a sound position at Denali National Park and Preserve. My work in Denali focused predominantly on examining bus sound pressure levels (SPL) penetrating wilderness area in the park. Sound stations, using a Larson Davis 831, solar panels, and an intricate weather station, were placed 100m off the park road, and camera traps were placed nearby along the road to help us identify which bus models were the loudest. This study was important because personal vehicles aren't allowed inside the park past Mile 15 and this bus system is the only means of public transportation into the park. This study revealed that certain bus models, as well as engine types, were louder than others, allowing park management to alter decisions about the current system.
While busses on the dirt road are certainly noisy at times, aircraft noise in the park is also a concern. I additionally aided with a multi-year study similar to the one in Kenai NWR, where sound stations were deployed systematically throughout Denali National Park to look at where aircraft noise was in the landscape. This work required hiking, backpacking, and flying, into extremely remote parts of the park to deploy and maintain complex sound stations. This research is ongoing and providing important information not only for the park, but also to local airports and tourist sight-seeing companies who have a strong interest in helping preserve the parks 6 million acres of wilderness.
Following my work on the Kenai NWR, I pursued my interest for soundscape ecology through a sound position at Denali National Park and Preserve. My work in Denali focused predominantly on examining bus sound pressure levels (SPL) penetrating wilderness area in the park. Sound stations, using a Larson Davis 831, solar panels, and an intricate weather station, were placed 100m off the park road, and camera traps were placed nearby along the road to help us identify which bus models were the loudest. This study was important because personal vehicles aren't allowed inside the park past Mile 15 and this bus system is the only means of public transportation into the park. This study revealed that certain bus models, as well as engine types, were louder than others, allowing park management to alter decisions about the current system.
While busses on the dirt road are certainly noisy at times, aircraft noise in the park is also a concern. I additionally aided with a multi-year study similar to the one in Kenai NWR, where sound stations were deployed systematically throughout Denali National Park to look at where aircraft noise was in the landscape. This work required hiking, backpacking, and flying, into extremely remote parts of the park to deploy and maintain complex sound stations. This research is ongoing and providing important information not only for the park, but also to local airports and tourist sight-seeing companies who have a strong interest in helping preserve the parks 6 million acres of wilderness.