What is Noise Pollution & how can we help?
When we think about marine pollution we tend to think about plastics, toxic chemicals, or even ocean acidification from climate change, however, there’s many manmade impacts on our environment that aren’t as obvious, such as noise pollution.
Noise isn’t just an irritation, it can cause chronic stress and physical injury. It can affect some animals ability to find food and mates, and to listen out for predators, particularly for animals that use echolocation.
From seismic surveys, drilling for oil and gas, construction of things like offshore wind farms, sonar, and of course the nearly constant drone from commercial ships, we humans cause plenty of discomfort to marine life.
Photo: Emma Li
The natural ocean isn’t exactly quiet. The soundscape can create roughly 50-100 decibels depending on where and when you are, but mankind’s addition to that has been dramatic. It’s been estimated that shipping has doubled the noise intensity in the ocean every 10 years.
Photo: Maxence Atzori
Photo: Pier Nirandara
Photo: Karim Iliya
Experiments have shown that simply slowing down ships can reduce noise by about 24%. Sound travels further and faster in water than it does in air, and quieter seas are healthier seas.
In Bali, ‘nyepi’ (a day of silence) is celebrated yearly and is very strictly reserved. Scientists have found that on this day, sound levels dropped dramatically by 6-9 decibels and had an effective impact on the underwater ecosystem.
Creating pockets of quiet in the ocean where marine life can enjoy a more natural soundscape could be vital to ensure that some life doesn’t fall into extinction.
Photo: Joe Daniels
