An autonomous recorder was deployed in Kongsfjorden, located in the Svalbard Archipelago, to
conduct time series measurements of ocean ambient sound from May 2014 to April 2015 with a
duty cycle of 2 min/hour. Using species vocalization counts, environmental data, and vessel
presence, the contribution and seasonal variability of each sound source to the soundscape was
evaluated. Overall sound levels were lowest in Summer, increased in the Fall and stabilized in
Winter and Summer. Abiotic noise was the major contributor to the soundscape, increasing
sound levels up to 10 dB. ACI highlighted the seasonal presence of fin whales and fish. GAM’s
showed that the interaction between components explained more of the variance in Lp for the
different TOL bands. The results emphasize the value of integrating analysis methodologies with
passive acoustic monitoring to effectively capture and analyze the interconnected and rapid
environmental transformations unfolding in the Arctic.
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