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Re: Transmission Line Noise & Animal Talk

Subject: Re: Transmission Line Noise & Animal Talk
From: "Rob Danielson" danielson_audio
Date: Tue Mar 15, 2011 8:27 am ((PDT))
Hi--
_Much better_ than checking the species in this list within my email,
please download this xls spreadsheet:

http://tinyurl.com/4jjcgkz

and add "yes" to the column next to the species who communications
you feel would be impacted by the presence of the loud noise in the
sample. Please add new species at the bottom of the spread sheet.
Email the spreadsheet to me at 

Thanks!!

   - - - -

At 10:05 AM -0600 3/15/11, Rob Danielson wrote:

Hi--
In assessing the possible impacts of a transmission project that is
proposed to pass 150-180' over a wetland/grassland area at the
Kickapoo Valley Reserve
<http://kvr.state.wi.us/>http://kvr.state.wi.us/ The site is one of
the top migration areas in the Upper Midwest. The transmission lines
would dangle over two large vernal ponds, one large pond and is
between two large march wetlands 1/4 mile in each direction. The line
would also pass over 20 acres of the least impacted prarie grassland
in the State. (I have data on bird strikes)

I need to prepare a quick assessment of possible impacts on animal
communications of a noise produced from the double circuit 345 kV
high vol from a sample Tom Williams provided me:

Here is a soundfile clip
<http://tinyurl.com/4f6b3ar>http://tinyurl.com/4f6b3ar (orig, only
boosted +12dB)
& sonogram <http://tinyurl.com/464ufe3>http://tinyurl.com/464ufe3

Here's what I could use quick help with if people hav some time:
(1) a sonogram of the above sample that goes higher than 24K Hz

(2) A list of animals whose communications would be compromised by
the presence of this noise based on simple masking or other
principles-- I'm assuming Birds, Bats and other mammals. Can people
familiar with bird and bat vocalization Hz content check-off the bird
species they know would be impacted in the list below?

(3) Can someone with bats ad some like species to the list?

=3D =3D =3D =3D

My crude sonogram suggests 7K-24K is has lots of noise saturation
(Tom was on the ground ~150 under the wires in HaldonForest, UK)

The spikes at 11KHz seem to be about 8-10 dB softer than the loudest
element in the environment-- background ambience from distant
traffic, pre-dawn. Based on distant animal calls usually falling
about -8 to -25 dB under the background ambience, the level of the
noise spikes seems to be very significant. I'm not a bird but I would
consider sounds with this much relief to be "screaming" if I heard
them at a disance of about 150 feet.

This is by no means a definitive study, I just want to put the
concern on the table at a meeting tomorrow pm with the developer who
wants to build the transmission line.

Thanks, Rob D.

=3D

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