The Ocean Decade Research Program on the Maritime Acoustic Environment (OD-MAE)

Abstract

Sound is a persistent yet dynamic component of the maritime environment. Understanding sound in the ocean is critical to support users of, and life within, the ocean. The United Nations Ocean Decade Research Program on the Maritime Acoustic Environment will establish a comprehensive program aimed at measuring and objectively characterizing underwater acoustic environments at regional to global scales. The program is inclusive of physical, biological, and anthropogenic components. We aim to foster new scientific knowledge, technologies, approaches to data collection, and dissemination that facilitate the use of sound for analyzing, evaluating, and predicting ocean-life systems.