MANNOISE

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MANNOISE

• MANagement of anthropogenic NOISE and its impacts
  on terrestrial and marine habitats in sensitive
  areas proposal for a collaboration between
  Italy and Slovenia

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Overview of the presentation

• Noise pollution

• Aim of the project

• Partners

• Study sites

• Methods

• Output

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What noise pollution is?
it is the unwanted sound that disrupts the
activity or balance of human or animal life
Effects of excessively intense noise levels
On animals masking of sounds used for
reproduction and navigation, reduction of usable
habitat (cause of extinction to some species),
long term changes in population structure
On humans hypertension, annoyance and
aggression,  tinnitus, sleep disturbances
On both stress, permanent or temporary hearing
loss, other harmful effects
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Many human activities can be claimed as
responsible for noise pollution

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Why addressing undewater noise pollution?
Because of increasing human activities in coastal
areas, it is a every-day growing problem
Most sensitive areas in Northern Adriatic,
located in highly populated coastal zones, with
very high level of human activities, are critical
habitats for key-species, both marine and
terrestrial
Transboundary problem need of joint
collaboration between neighbouring countries
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Aim of the presented project
Underwater noise is one of the relevant issues in
the new Marine Strategy Framework Directive,
adopted by the EU in 2008.
MSFD requires a complete assessment of marine
environment in all EU seas within 2012 as well as
development of monitoring programmes for all
relevant parameters, including underwater noise.
This project is intended to prepare Guidance on
the Effective airborne and Underwater Noise
Management in Slovenian-Italian coastal areas
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Our principal activity is to perform scientific
research, test, implement and ensure safety and
health in the working and living environment as
well as protection from ionized and non-ionized
radiation, fire safety, road safety, publicity
and education.
ZVD d.d. takes an active part since 1960 and it
is the oldest and the largest institution on the
field of assuring of safety and health at work.
ZVD d.d. is equipped with top-level
equipment and employ 95 people including 5
Doctors of Science, 6 with Master's degrees and
51 university, college and high school
graduates. ZVD d.d. covers entire region of
the Republic of Slovenia and performs whole range
of services from the field of safety and health
at work and living environment.
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NOISE MEASUREMENTS
Laboratory for Physical Measurement received
accreditation according to standard SIST EN
ISO/IEC 17025 for performing sound Insulation
measurements in buildings and of building
materials and for measuring noise in buildings
and in the natural and living environment
SOME LAST BIGGEST ACOUSTICAL PROJECTS
PORT OF KOPER CONTINUES NOISE MEASUREMENTS
AROUND PORT AND NOISE MAPPING AIRPORT OF
LJUBLJANA CONTINUES NOISE MEASUREMENTS OF
AIRCRAFT NOISE MILITARY AIRPORT CERKLJE PRI KRKI
NOISE MAPPING, NOISE MEASSUREMENTS COMBINED
HEAT AND POWER STATION TE-TOL LJUBLJANA - NOISE
CONTROL
ZVD Zavod za varstvo pri delu, d.d. Chengdujska
cesta 25, 1260 Ljubljana - Polje
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Overview - Partners - Sites - Methods - Output
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Institute for Water of the Republic of Slovenia

• Founded in the early sixties as Water Management
  Institute
• From 2004 it is a public institute
• specialized in water resources management and
  freshwater and maritime engineering.
• IWRS serves the Ministry of Environment in legal
  regulation procedures in water management
  planning and water protection.

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Institute for Water of the Republic of Slovenia

• Field of activities
• Lead institution for organization of expert
  support to the Ministry of Environment in
  implementation of
• Marine Strategy Framework Directive
• Water Framework Directive
• Flood Directive and other fields
• Development and research in the fields of
• water ecology, hydrology and river
  morphodynamics
• hydrological studies, water management plans and
  environmental risk assessment studies
• GIS, data management.

• Staff
• 56 employed
• 12 researchers (8 PhD)
• 35 engineers
• 11 technicians admin.

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The newly founded Department of Life Sciences of
Trieste University originates from the fusion of
four departments the Department of Biochemistry,
Biophysics and Macromolecular Chemistry,
the Department of Biology, the Department of
Physiology and Pathology and the Department of
Biomedical Sciences.
More than 10 years of formal agreement between
Biology Department (University of Trieste) and
WWF-Natural Marine Reserve of Miramare Several
studies on the impact of man-made input of noise
and light in the marine environment, with special
regards to the behavioral response of target
species to these stimuli
Overview - Partners - Sites - Methods - Output
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Acoustic protection of the marine bio-system

• Some examples
• Assessing the extent of the anthropogenic noise
  pressure in the Loinj Dolphin Reserve
  (Northern Adriatic, Croatia) (2004-2006) - runned
  with the ngo Blue World Institute for marine
  research and conservation
• Assessing the extent of the anthropogenic noise
  pressure in the Natural Marine Reserve of
  Miramare (2006-2008) - research supported by the
  Italian Ministry for Environment, Territory and
  Sea

• Expertize on the topic
• 5 Master Thesis, 2 PhD, 1 research fellowship
• Research papers on the topic published on
  international scientific journals
• External collaborations
• Biology Department, University of Wien
• Blue-World Institute of Marine Research and
  Conservation (Croazia)
• FRS Marine Laboratory of Aberdeen (UK)
• SISSA (Trieste)
• Engeneering Department, University of Parma
  (Italy)

Overview - Partners - Sites - Methods - Output
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Cooperative Society
Estabilished in 1988
Research institute from 1995
Quality certified ENI EN ISO 90012000TUV Italy
25701/2003
Highly qualified Laboratory for Ministry of
Education, University and Research
Authorized for research activity in fisheries and
aquaculture from Ministry for Agricultural, Food
and Forest Resources
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Staff 30 people, comprising mainly biologists,
but also geologists, businnes consultants,
lawers

• Fields of activity
• Environmental conservation
• Management of Miramare Marine Reserve
• Environmental education
• Scientific Monitoring of marine ecosystems

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Marine Biology Station

• The Marine Biology Station Piran MBS was founded
  in 1969 as a Unit of the Institute of Biology,
  University of Ljubljana
• Today is a Unit of the National Institute of
  Biology Ljubljana
• The MBS is currently the only research group in
  Slovenia devoted entirely to marine scientific
  research and professional work.

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Staff MBS

• 35 employed
• 16 researchers (13 PhD)
• 10 young researchers
• 9 technicians administrators

Biologists, chemists, biochemists, pysics,
metereologists, geologists,
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Industrial Engineering Department

• The University of Parma was founded in XI
  century it is among the 4 most ancient in the
  world

• The Industrial Engineering Department was
  established in 1990, focusing on mechanical
  engineering and environmental impact of industry

• Current staff includes 38 academics, 64
  postgraduate fellows, 11 technicians/administrativ
  es

• Yearly research funds range between 350.000
  and 750.000 , without accounting staffs wages

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Underwater Acoustics at UNIPR-IED

• Multichannel hydrophone arrays for low-frequency
  active SONAR and passive source localization
• Use of innovative not-impulsive test signals for
  echo- sounding with low environmental impact
• Patented three-dimensional underwater Ambisonics
  probe allows for vector analysis of pressure and
  particle velocity
• Software for mapping noise propagation in
  coastal areas

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• Morigenos marine mammal research and
  conservation society

• founded in 2001
• independent, non-profit and non-governmental
  organization, dedicated to the research and
  protection of cetaceans and conservation of the
  marine environment.
• Involved in several projects in the field of
  scientific research, education, public awareness
  and conservation
• partner organization to ACCOBAMS (An Agreement on
  the Conservation of Cetaceans of the Black Sea,
  Mediterranean Sea and contiguous Atlantic Area
• 14 people, mainly biologists, but also
  veterinaries, students, volunteers with different
  backgrounds

 
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Slovenian Dolphin Project by Morigenos
Started in 2002 Long-term project Ecology and
conservation of bottlenose dolphins Mediterranea
n population proposed as Vulnerable by
IUCN. Only regular cetacean in the Gulf of
Trieste and north Adriatic Distribution,
abundance, social structure, population dynamics,
habitat use, behaviour, fishery interactions,
strandings
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Secovlje Salina Nature Park

• Protected area
• Ramsar Site
• Natura 2000 Site
• Conservation of wild birds EC Birds Directive
• Conservation of natural habitats and of wild
  fauna and flora EC Habitats Directive
• 51experts

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Secovlje Salina Nature Park

• Field of activity
• production of salt with traditional methods
• from 2003 management of Natural Park and water
  management
• Environmental monitoring and protection

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Study sites
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AIRBORNE NOISE MONITORING AND MAPPING
Noise monitoring - 4 noise monitoring terminal
- short time measurements on all locations
Airborne Noise mapping - costal traffic -
water traffic and activities - other noise events
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AIRBORNE NOISE MONITORING
Measuring part
Data Management
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Overview - Partners - Sites - Methods - Output
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Long term monitoring of Underwater noise
5 sonobuoys in study areas
1 sonobuoy offshore location connecteded to VIDA
Vidaoceanographic buoy Reception station at MBS
Soundfish innovative buoy to record noise
directionality and particle velocity
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Study of coastal fish assemblage

• Vertical transects
• Horizontal transects
• All-occurence sampling

Habitat types
Species richness
Non-destructive visual census methods
Abundance
Cryptobenthic and Endolitic species
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Acoustic census and playback in the field
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Laboratory work
)
)
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1video camera 2videorecorder 3 recorder 4
hydrophone 5 loudspeaker 6 Portable recorder
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Boat based and land based surveysC-podPhoto-I
DBehavioural sampling
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Monitoring target species
Plotting data on maps
EX distribution of breeding species
Measuring biological diversity

• We will be able to answer to question such as
• how well are we doing?
• Is human noise harming target species ?
• what difference are we making?

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NOISE IMPACTS ON TERRESTRIAL ANIMALS AND HUMANS
CRITERIA FOR NOISE IMPACT ON HUMANS (Existing
legislation - EU)

• Annoyance,
• sleeping disturbance,
• Interference with communications, schools,
  communities,
• hearing damage.

ASSESSMENT OF NOISE ON ANIMALS (No legislation
exists - EU)

• For domesticated species the issue is still
  damage to individual animals or impacts on
  production and profits.
• For wild animals high noise levels can interfere
  with chance of their survival and stability of
  species population.
• The abandonment of nests and resulting death of
  young birds are possible.

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• Outputs
• Noise maps of the Northern Adriatic coastline
• Handbooks with guidelines, informative material
• Set animal-safe limit values for man made noise
• Develop mitigation measures
• Create a website accessible to the large public

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• In the framework of Prioritary AXIS 1 of the
  Italy-Slovenia collaboration, this project will
• Protect the peculiar biodiversity of Northern
  Adriatic
• Protect environment from noise pollution and
  technological risk
• Estabilish a long term collaboration for the
  management of the coastal area
• Develop strategies for conservation and
  management of natural areas (protected or not)
  and Natura 2000 sites in the area, which is one
  of the most preserved in Europe

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Thank you for your attention