Soundscape dataset of Gregoire stream, located in southern Québec (2017)

<p>Abstract: Data were collected in the summer 2017 in a second order stream with the objective to draw an underwater acoustic map at a high resolution for the entire stream (1150 meter). The sample scale was 2.5 meters. This dataset contains 917 sample sites that measured underwater acoustic profile in term of decibel (ref: 1uPa) per 1 hertz frequency (from 1Hz to 22000Hz). For each sample, the location in the stream is detailed. Acoustic profiles were made from underwater sound records of 10 s long.</p> <p>Method:&nbsp;The study was conducted in Gregoire Stream, a second-order stream in southern Quebec, Canada (46&deg;05&#39;40&#39;&#39;N, 71&deg;25&#39;58&#39;&#39;W). The area has a rain-snow regime characterized by peak water flows in spring and low flows in summer. We delineated a reach of 1150 m in length characterized by a flat low-flow section at the upstream end (stream distance = 1150 m) and a series of waterfalls at the downstream end (stream distance = 0 m), near to the confluence of Gregoire Stream and the Bagot River. The reach was crossed by a road which separated two zones differing in slope and riparian vegetation; a downstream zone having steeper slope and forest cover and an upstream zone having shallower slope and mostly shrub cover.</p> <p>Underwater soundscape was recorded along the entire stream reach (1150m). we recorded two 10-second underwater audio clip in each 2.5-m stream section (middle left and middle right).</p> <p>Underwater sounds were recorded using a H1 hydrophone powered by a PA4 amplifier (Aquarian Scientific, Anacortes, USA) and connected to a digital recorder (H2n Recorder, Zoom, Tokyo, Japan). A total of 917 10-second audio clips were recorded (16-bit WAV format at a sampling rate of 44.1 kHz) at a depth of 5 cm below the water surface. Each audio clip was listened with earphones to ensure that the hydrophone was not rubbing on hard surfaces while recording. The recording system has a maximum input of 10 V (rms) and a rated sensitivity of -190 dB re 1 V/&micro;Pa over the flat frequency-response range 10&ndash;3,000 Hz. Above specifications were used to obtain referenced sound pressure level (SPL) (dB re 1 &micro;Pa) with the PAMGuide functions (Merchant et al. 2015). For each audio clip, the frequency spectrum averaged through time was calculated to obtain referenced SPL values in 1-Hz frequency bands over the 0.1-10 KHz range. This procedure yielded a total of 22049 dB values per audio clip.</p> <p>&nbsp;</p>