ASA/ANSI S3/SC1.7-2026

Standard for Acoustic Metadata for Passive Acoustic Monitoring (Supplemental "How to Guide" included)

Sound plays a vital role in the natural world and is often used to study species and ecosystems in both marine and terrestrial environments. This standard defines a unified framework for documenting metadata associated with passive acoustic recordings and associated analysis outputs, promoting consistency and precision. It encompasses key aspects of acoustic data collection, such as instrument deployments, deployment locations, configurations, and calibration details, supporting both stationary and mobile platforms with single or multiple sensors. Additionally, the standard provides mechanisms for detailed documentation of detected sounds, offering structured representations of taxa and flexible annotation levels—from simple presence over specified time intervals to precise timing of individual calls. Spatial data, including sound source location and direction, is also supported, with provisions for multiple coordinate reference systems. By standardizing the capture and preservation of information related to data collection, analysis, and quality control, this framework enhances reproducibility and facilitates data integration across studies. It enables researchers to combine results from diverse analyses, improving the interoperability, utility, and long-term value of acoustic data for ecological research and conservation efforts.