Results of an acoustic monitoring conducted in the northern part of the shallow-water Gulf of Ob (the Ob River estuary, an embayment in the Kara Sea) are presented. Vessel-generated noises and communication signals from marine mammals are identified among acoustic sources. Sounds produced by beluga whales are subjected to quantitative analysis using a convolutional neural network. A model for inhomogeneous geoacoustic waveguide characteristic of this area is inferred from the data of a dedicated survey with deployment of an air gun as a low-frequency pulse source. The conclusion is drawn about the high level of attenuation of low-frequency sound during propagation. Based on the numerical simulation, the measurement results are extrapolated to other sites of the study area that potentially have sources of anthropogenic noise.
D.S. Manulchev (Wed,) studied this question.