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Discovery of Sound in the Sea (DOSITS)


Project Description
The Discovery of the Sound in the Sea project (http://www.dosits.org) is funded by the U.S. Office of Naval Research, National Science Foundation (NSF), and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). The original grant and following renewal funding has allowed for the production of an interactive, educational web site; a 12-page booklet for stakeholders; and a tri-fold brochure developed by the University of Rhode Island's (URI) Office of Marine Programs (OMP) and Marine Acoustics Inc. (MAI). The website was launched in November 2002 and a redesigned, Flash-based interactive structure was launched in March 2010. Our success is demonstrated by continued funding (in total more than $1.5 million) and the ever-increasing number of website hits we receive each year, with a recent peak of one million hits per month.

All materials associated with the DOSITS Project have undergone extensive peer review. Dr. Peter Worcester from Scripps Institution of Oceanography served as the project's advisor in year one and currently leads the scientific advisory team. During subsequent years, the core advisory team has expanded to include Dr. Kurt Fristrup (formerly from Cornell University now with the National Park Service Natural Sounds Program Office), Dr. James Miller (URI), Dr. Peter Scheifele (University of Cincinnati), Dr. Darlene Ketten (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution), and Dr. Jacqueline Webb (URI). In addition to the core advisory team, the DOSITS scientific content has been reviewed by over 20 scientific experts (see http://www.dosits.org/siteinfo/info1.htm for a complete list). Advisory committee members are added as appropriate to review specific scientific content as it relates to their expertise.

The DOSITS team continues to find, select, and peer review scientific material for the website and to make this material readily available to the scientific and educational community. In 2010-2011, our work will focus on topics such as the sounds that animals can hear; automated algorithms for detecting, classifying, and localizing sounds; the potential effects of global climate change and ocean acidification on acoustic propagation; methods for viewing and analyzing sound data; the use of underwater sound in alternative energy technologies; and other topics addressed in relevant, newly published, peer-reviewed literature.

Related Publications
Vigness-Raposa, Kathleen J., Gail Scowcroft, James H. Miller, and Darlene R. Ketten. In review. Discovery of Sound in the Sea: An On-line Resource. Book Chapter from the Proceedings of the Second Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life Conference, Cork, Ireland, August 2010.

Vigness-Raposa, K.J., G. Scowcroft, C. Knowlton, and P.F. Worcester. 2008. The Discovery of Sound in the Sea website: An educational resource. Bioacoustics 17:348-350.

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