Underwater noise properties in waterway areas of the South Baltic Sea

Results of underwater noise records completed with single and multi-hydrophone systems performed in the shallow water in the close vicinity of shipping lanes to the Gdansk/Gdynia and Świnoujście/Szczecin harbours are presented. Due to the fact that the bottom properties, bathymetry, and temporally varying sea surface alter the original sound spectra and reduce the acoustic energy, the sound transmission losses have been modelled, and an attempt to predict source levels of ships was performed. The KRAKEN sound propagation model illustrates the problems of the recognition of sources noise spectra on the basis of observations in a far zone from the sources. On the basis of the observed noise data, jointly with the AIS system the potential ecological effects of anthropogenic underwater noise on marine organisms are given for the Pomeranian Bight. In the paper, some examples of algorithms of ship noise recognition are given.