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Estuarine Soundscape Observatory Network in the Southeast (ESONS) Raw Audio Data

Published by NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information | National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, Department of Commerce | Catalog Last Checked: August 02, 2026 at 09:51 PM | Dataset Last Updated: November 07, 2024 at 12:00 AM
The Estuarine Soundscape Observatory Network in the Southeast (ESONS) was established in 2013 to use a minimally invasive approach--passive acoustic monitoring--to examine the behavior of marine life at a high temporal resolution across multiple levels of biological complexity. The long-term goal is to "eavesdrop" on key behaviors of marine animals that may change rapidly or gradually in response to environmental variability and human impacts, thereby providing a measure of ecological resilience and detecting shifting baselines in a globally changing environment. As of 2026, ESONS consists of 10 monitoring stations distributed across four estuarine systems, including: (i) three stations in the May River (9M, 14M, and 37M); (ii) one station in Chechessee Creek (CC4) and one in the Colleton River (CR1); (iii) three stations in Charleston Harbor (B, C, and D*); and (iv) two stations in Trenchards Inlet near Pritchards Island (PR4 and PR7). The May River stations, established in 2013, are the longest continuously operating sites, followed by Charleston Harbor (2017), Chechessee Creek and Colleton River (2019), and Pritchards Island (2025). At each monitoring station, passive acoustic recorders, including DSG-Ocean (gain = 20 dB), DSG-ST (gain = 33 dB), or LS1 (gain = 14 dB) units manufactured by Loggerhead Instruments, were/are deployed with HTI-96-Min Series hydrophones manufactured by High Tech, Inc. Hydrophone sensitivities were/are -186, -201, and -180 dBV µPa-1 for the DSG-Ocean, DSG-ST, and LS1 systems, respectively. Recorders were/are programmed to collect 2-minute sound files every hour (i.e., 24 WAV files per day). Each recorder is also equipped with environmental loggers manufactured by Onset Corporation, including a HOBO Water Temperature Pro v2 (U22-001) and a HOBO 100-Foot Depth Water Level Data Logger (U20-001-02-Ti), which collect temperature and depth data hourly. In addition, salinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen were/are measured monthly during mid- to high-tide conditions at six stations in the May River (4M, 9M, 14M, 19M, 34M, and 37M) using a YSI Inc. 556 Handheld Multiparameter Instrument (Figure 1). These measurements have been collected from 2016 to the present. Salinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen were also measured monthly during mid- to high-tide conditions at 12 stations in Chechessee Creek and the Colleton River (1707, 1813, 1814, 1811, 18P, 1805, 1815, 1804, 1803, 1801, 1817, and 1808) from 2019 to 2025.

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Complete Metadata
@type dcat:Dataset
accessLevel non-public
contactPoint 
{
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  "@type": "vcard:Contact",
  "hasEmail": "mailto:pad.info@noaa.gov"
}
describedByType application/octet-steam
description The Estuarine Soundscape Observatory Network in the Southeast (ESONS) was established in 2013 to use a minimally invasive approach--passive acoustic monitoring--to examine the behavior of marine life at a high temporal resolution across multiple levels of biological complexity. The long-term goal is to "eavesdrop" on key behaviors of marine animals that may change rapidly or gradually in response to environmental variability and human impacts, thereby providing a measure of ecological resilience and detecting shifting baselines in a globally changing environment. As of 2026, ESONS consists of 10 monitoring stations distributed across four estuarine systems, including: (i) three stations in the May River (9M, 14M, and 37M); (ii) one station in Chechessee Creek (CC4) and one in the Colleton River (CR1); (iii) three stations in Charleston Harbor (B, C, and D*); and (iv) two stations in Trenchards Inlet near Pritchards Island (PR4 and PR7). The May River stations, established in 2013, are the longest continuously operating sites, followed by Charleston Harbor (2017), Chechessee Creek and Colleton River (2019), and Pritchards Island (2025). At each monitoring station, passive acoustic recorders, including DSG-Ocean (gain = 20 dB), DSG-ST (gain = 33 dB), or LS1 (gain = 14 dB) units manufactured by Loggerhead Instruments, were/are deployed with HTI-96-Min Series hydrophones manufactured by High Tech, Inc. Hydrophone sensitivities were/are -186, -201, and -180 dBV µPa-1 for the DSG-Ocean, DSG-ST, and LS1 systems, respectively. Recorders were/are programmed to collect 2-minute sound files every hour (i.e., 24 WAV files per day). Each recorder is also equipped with environmental loggers manufactured by Onset Corporation, including a HOBO Water Temperature Pro v2 (U22-001) and a HOBO 100-Foot Depth Water Level Data Logger (U20-001-02-Ti), which collect temperature and depth data hourly. In addition, salinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen were/are measured monthly during mid- to high-tide conditions at six stations in the May River (4M, 9M, 14M, 19M, 34M, and 37M) using a YSI Inc. 556 Handheld Multiparameter Instrument (Figure 1). These measurements have been collected from 2016 to the present. Salinity, pH, and dissolved oxygen were also measured monthly during mid- to high-tide conditions at 12 stations in Chechessee Creek and the Colleton River (1707, 1813, 1814, 1811, 18P, 1805, 1815, 1804, 1803, 1801, 1817, and 1808) from 2019 to 2025.
distribution 
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  },
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    "title": "Passive Acoustic Data Site",
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    "description": "NCEI site providing more information on the passive acoustic data archive.",
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    "description": "Google Cloud Storage providing public access to passive acoustic data through the NOAA Big Data Project.",
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identifier https://data.noaa.gov/waf/NOAA/NESDIS/NGDC/MGG/passive_acoustic/iso/xml/ESONS_Raw_Audio.xml
issued 2024-11-07T00:00:00.000+00:00
keyword 
[
  "Earth Science > Biological Classification > Animals/Vertebrates > Fish",
  "Earth Science > Biological Classification > Animals/Vertebrates > Mammals > Cetaceans",
  "Earth Science > Oceans > Ocean Acoustics",
  "Earth Science > Oceans > Aquatic Sciences > Fisheries",
  "Earth Science > Oceans > Marine Environment Monitoring",
  "Earth Science > Oceans > Ocean Acoustics > Ambient Noise",
  "Earth Science > Biosphere > Aquatic Ecosystems",
  "Earth Science > Biosphere > Ecosystems > Marine Ecosystems",
  "Ocean > Atlantic Ocean > North Atlantic Ocean",
  "Fixed Observation Stations",
  "Recorders/Loggers > Passive Acoustic Recorder",
  "Acoustic Sounders > Hydrophones",
  "DOC/NOAA/NESDIS/NCEI > National Centers for Environmental Information, NESDIS, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce"
]
language 
[]
license https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/zero/1.0/
modified 2024-11-07T00:00:00.000+00:00
publisher 
{
  "name": "NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information",
  "@type": "org:Organization"
}
rights otherRestrictions
spatial -79.794,32.124,-80.982,32.9
temporal 2012-07-26T00:00:00+00:00/2012-07-26T00:00:00+00:00
theme 
[
  "geospatial"
]
title Estuarine Soundscape Observatory Network in the Southeast (ESONS) Raw Audio Data

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