ABSTRACT
High-latitude shipping noise is introduced through the latitudinal dependence of the depth of the sound channel axis. Specifically, coastal shipping noise is introduced into the deep sound channel through the process of downslope conversion. Kibblewhite et al. demonstrated the importance of the latitudinal dependence of the sound channel axis depth in introducing high-latitude shipping noise into the deep sound channel. Scrimger et al. and Lemon and Duddridge described the development and operation of weather observation through ambient noise systems. The resulting instrument package called ocean ambient sound instrument system inferred wind speeds and directions from these acoustic measurements that were determined to be in good agreement with direct observations made at Ocean Weather Station Mike in the Norwegian Sea. Supporting observations made from two regions near Australia suggested that while geostrophic-wind forecasting would predict the broad trends, it would provide poorer prediction of detail than would forecasts based on real-time local data.
