Osservatori multidisciplinari in ambiente profondo per il monitoraggio acustico passivo dei cetacei

Since 2005 the collaboration between different research Institutes has promoted the installationof two cabled deep-sea multidisciplinary infrastructures offshore Eastern Sicily, Ionian Sea. One is locatedat 2,100 m depth and 25 km offshore the harbour of Catania, whereas the other one is placed at 3,500 mdepth and 100 km offshore Portopalo di Capo Passero. The two deep-sea sites are equipped with acousticarrays for the real-time monitoring of the underwater environment. Data acquired allow us to carry on aPassive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) of the different Cetaceans species present in the Ionian Sea (spermwhales, fin whales and dolphins). The correlation between the AIS (Automatic Identification System) dataand the acoustic data allowed us to identify the noise generated by the different categories of ships.