Underwater radiated noise levels of a research icebreaker in the central Arctic Ocean

U.S. Coast Guard Cutter Healy\u27s underwater radiated noise signature was characterized in the central Arctic Ocean during different types of ice-breaking operations. Propulsion modes included transit in variable ice cover, breaking heavy ice with backing-and-ramming maneuvers, and dynamic positioning with the bow thruster in operation. Compared to open-water transit, Healy\u27s noise signature increased approximately 10 dB between 20 Hz and 2 kHz when breaking ice. The highest noise levels resulted while the ship was engaged in backing-and-ramming maneuvers, owing to cavitation when operating the propellers astern or in opposing directions. In frequency bands centered near 10, 50, and 100 Hz, source levels reached 190–200 dB re: 1 μPa at 1 m (full octave band) during ice-breaking operations

Seismic Performance Evaluation of a Submarine Gas Pipeline

Analyses were conducted on the seismic performance of a proposed offshore gas flowline, which connects a manifold in 830-m water depth to a riser platform in shallow waters of the outer continental shelf. Climbing a 10-degree continental slope, the flowline will be installed on the seafloor underlain by deep carbonate sediments of sands and silty clays. Two types of analyses were performed for a critical segment of the flowline, where it traverses a narrow ridge flanked by two deep submarine canyons: (1) probabilistic analyses using simplified empirical methods; and (2) deterministic 2D and 3D analyses with FLAC using a nonlinear, effective-stress soil model fully coupled with an empirical pore-pressure generation scheme. Soil properties were derived from PCPT and T-bar data, Bender element tests, and monotonic and cyclic direct simple shear tests. The analysis results indicated an extremely small likelihood of liquefaction along the flowline, with only small deformations predicted to occur for ground motions with a return period of 5,000 years

Ringed, Bearded, and Ribbon Seal Vocalizations North of Barrow, Alaska: Seasonal Presence and Relationship with Sea Ice

The acoustic repertoires of ringed, bearded, and ribbon seals are described, along with their seasonal occurrence and relationship to sea ice concentration. Acoustic recordings were made between September and June over three years (2006 – 09) along the continental slope break in the Chukchi Sea, 120 km north-northwest of Barrow, Alaska. Vocalizations of ringed and bearded seals occurred in winter and during periods of 80% – 100% ice cover but were mostly absent during open water periods. The presence of ringed and bearded seal calls throughout winter and spring suggests that some portion of their population is overwintering. Analysis of the repertoire of ringed and bearded seal calls shows seasonal variation. Ringed seal calls are primarily barks in winter and yelps in spring, while bearded seal moans increase during spring. Ribbon seal calls were detected only in the fall of 2008 during the open water period. The repertoire of known ribbon seal vocalizations was expanded to include three additional calls, and two stereotyped call sequences were common. Retrospective analyses of ringed seal recordings from 1982 and ribbon seal recordings from 1967 showed a high degree of stability in call repertoire across large spatial and temporal scales.Le répertoire acoustique des phoques annelés, des phoques barbus et des phoques à bandes sont décrits, de même que leur présence saisonnière et leur rapport avec la concentration de glace de mer. Des enregistrements acoustiques ont été effectués entre septembre et juin sur une période de trois ans (2006 – 2009), le long de la rupture de la pente continentale, dans la mer des Tchouktches, à 120 km au nord-nord-ouest de Barrow, en Alaska. Les vocalisations de phoques annelés et de phoques barbus étaient présentes pendant l’hiver et pendant les périodes où la concentration de glace était de 80 % à 100 %, mais elles se faisaient rares pendant les périodes d’eau libre. La présence des cris de phoques annelés et de phoques barbus tout au long de l’hiver et du printemps suggère qu’une partie de leur population hiverne. L’analyse du répertoire de cris de phoques annelés et de phoques barbus indique une variation saisonnière. L’hiver, le cri du phoque annelé prend principalement la forme d’aboiements, tandis que le printemps, il prend la forme de glapissements. Les gémissements du phoque barbu s’intensifient au printemps. Le cri des phoques à bandes n’a été capté qu’à l’automne 2008, pendant la période des eaux libres. Le répertoire des vocalisations connues du phoque à bandes a été élargi pour inclure trois autres cris, bien que deux séquences de cris stéréotypées étaient courantes. L’analyse rétrospective des enregistrements de cris de phoques annelés de 1982 et de phoques à bandes de 1967 a laissé entrevoir une grande stabilité du point de vue du répertoire des cris, et ce, sur de vastes échelles spatiales et temporelles

The James Webb Space Telescope Mission

Twenty-six years ago a small committee report, building on earlier studies, expounded a compelling and poetic vision for the future of astronomy, calling for an infrared-optimized space telescope with an aperture of at least $4m$. With the support of their governments in the US, Europe, and Canada, 20,000 people realized that vision as the $6.5m$ James Webb Space Telescope. A generation of astronomers will celebrate their accomplishments for the life of the mission, potentially as long as 20 years, and beyond. This report and the scientific discoveries that follow are extended thank-you notes to the 20,000 team members. The telescope is working perfectly, with much better image quality than expected. In this and accompanying papers, we give a brief history, describe the observatory, outline its objectives and current observing program, and discuss the inventions and people who made it possible. We cite detailed reports on the design and the measured performance on orbit.Comment: Accepted by PASP for the special issue on The James Webb Space Telescope Overview, 29 pages, 4 figure

Impact of opioid-free analgesia on pain severity and patient satisfaction after discharge from surgery: multispecialty, prospective cohort study in 25 countries

Background: Balancing opioid stewardship and the need for adequate analgesia following discharge after surgery is challenging. This study aimed to compare the outcomes for patients discharged with opioid versus opioid-free analgesia after common surgical procedures.Methods: This international, multicentre, prospective cohort study collected data from patients undergoing common acute and elective general surgical, urological, gynaecological, and orthopaedic procedures. The primary outcomes were patient-reported time in severe pain measured on a numerical analogue scale from 0 to 100% and patient-reported satisfaction with pain relief during the first week following discharge. Data were collected by in-hospital chart review and patient telephone interview 1 week after discharge.Results: The study recruited 4273 patients from 144 centres in 25 countries; 1311 patients (30.7%) were prescribed opioid analgesia at discharge. Patients reported being in severe pain for 10 (i.q.r. 1-30)% of the first week after discharge and rated satisfaction with analgesia as 90 (i.q.r. 80-100) of 100. After adjustment for confounders, opioid analgesia on discharge was independently associated with increased pain severity (risk ratio 1.52, 95% c.i. 1.31 to 1.76; P < 0.001) and re-presentation to healthcare providers owing to side-effects of medication (OR 2.38, 95% c.i. 1.36 to 4.17; P = 0.004), but not with satisfaction with analgesia (beta coefficient 0.92, 95% c.i. -1.52 to 3.36; P = 0.468) compared with opioid-free analgesia. Although opioid prescribing varied greatly between high-income and low- and middle-income countries, patient-reported outcomes did not.Conclusion: Opioid analgesia prescription on surgical discharge is associated with a higher risk of re-presentation owing to side-effects of medication and increased patient-reported pain, but not with changes in patient-reported satisfaction. Opioid-free discharge analgesia should be adopted routinely

Arctic ocean long-term acoustic monitoring : ambient noise, environmental correlates, and transients north of Barrow, Alaska

The Arctic Ocean has experienced wide-spread decreases in sea ice concentrations that may impact various marine ecosystems. This study analyzes yearlong ocean acoustic recordings from north of Barrow, Alaska, to provide baseline measurements prior to possible increases in anthropogenic activities. In September 2006, two autonomous High-frequency Acoustic Recording Packages (HARPs) were deployed to the seafloor (250m), where sound was continuously recorded by hydrophones for nine months. Ice conditions during the recordings included open water, pack ice formation, shore-fast canopies, and thermal breakup, providing a wide range of Arctic Ocean acoustic measurements. Spectral-averaging was used to determine received sound-pressure levels. Across the low-frequency band, fall was the noisiest season, reaching 87dB re [mu]Pa between 20-60Hz, while 10% of October was exposed to noise above 130dB re [mu]Pa at 10Hz and 112dB re [mu]Pa between 20-30Hz; seismic airguns were present from September to November. Acoustic data was compared with sea ice concentration and wind speed; during summer and fall, sound-pressure spectrum levels correlate directly with high wind speeds, typically indicative of low-pressure atmospheric events. Throughout winter and spring, strong winds and thermal fracturing in sea ice opens leads, resulting in correlations with spectral energy-peaks. Bioacoustic recordings of cetaceans and pinnipeds were analyzed using long-term spectral-averages to determine presence or absence on an hourly basis. Combined with ancillary measurements, long-term acoustic monitoring is an effective tool for observing changing levels of ambient sound related to sea ice dynamics, environmental noise- generating mechanisms, and anthropogenic noise, while simultaneously detecting marine mammal

A Seaglider-Integrated Digital Monitor for Bioacoustic Sensing

An acoustic Digital MONitor (DMON) has been integrated into a Seaglider autonomous underwater vehicle to serve as a general-use tool for passive acoustic sensing of marine mammal vocalizations. The system is being developed as a complement to conventional ship-based cetacean survey methods. The acoustic system includes three omnidirectional hydrophones, one located on centerline of the aft payload hatch and one on each wingtip. An onboard real-time detector has been implemented to record an audio sample if ambient noise has risen above a user-prescribed signal-to-noise ratio (SNR) threshold level. The data size and the number of detections are available in semi-real time, and the acoustic data are retrieved upon recovery of the instrument. Because the DMON system interfaces with the Seaglider firmware, the glider pilot has the capability to modify several operational parameters governing the collection of acoustic data while the glider is deployed to tailor the data recording to the desired mission objectives. This implementation is referred to as the Seaglider Customizable Sampling Configuration (SCSC) DMON and has recorded a wide variety of cetacean vocal activity offshore the Hawaiian Islands