Constellation, le dépôt institutionnel de l'Université du Québec à Chicoutimi

Résumé

This paper proposes a novel approach to reducing the environmental impact of marine traffic on cetaceans, focusing on controlling vessel velocity to minimize underwater noise. The approach is based on a simulation system integrating a dynamic vessel model, an autopilot (with Integral Line-Of-Sight guidance law), a noise transmission model, a wind and current model and a decision-making system. The main contribution of the paper is the ability to dynamically adjust vessel velocity according to underwater Sound Pressure Levels heard at cetacean location, and the visualization of different scenarios describing interactions between vessels and cetaceans. The results show that adjusting vessel velocity as a function of distance from cetaceans maintains noise levels below the acceptable threshold, demonstrating the simulator's effectiveness in controlling underwater noise heard at cetacean location.