okeanos - Stiftung für das Meer

Sound in the Sea

Acoustic Smog

The deeper one dives, the less the light from the surface penetrates. Below a certain depth, where all is engulfed in total darkness, eyes forfeit their utility. Whales and dolphins, together with other denizens of the deep, employ sounds in order to communicate, find mates, orient themselves, and hunt prey. They are dependent on hearing sounds, but ever more numerous, ever noisier vessels are plying the seas. Moreover, oil companies explore the seabed for deposits by bombarding it with airguns, and naval vessels locate potential foes by means of sonar. All these activities combine to create a troublesome din that adversely affects the hearing - and, thus, the existence - of marine creatures. They cannot escape it, however. Noise polluted though the sea may be, it is their sole abode and habitat.

We made noise pollution one of our focal points in order to publicize this relatively unknown problem. By inviting experts from the most diverse disciplines to our workshops and symposia, we endeavoured to promote unconventional solutions and ideas.

 

Find out more about our past research projects and symposia concerning noise.

resources

Sound in the Sea

Links

Legal disclaimer: In spite of all care Okeanos is not responsible for the content of other people’s website.
The University of Rhode

Something to listen to: The University of Rhode Island has published an audible database – songs of whales, sounds of other animals, but also earthquakes and noise produced by humans:

Sound recordings

Sound recordings provided by the Discovery Channel:

National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration

A site of the National Oceanic and Atmosphere Administration of the United States Department of Commerce, which provides various recordings of whales. These recordings are made with hydrophones (underwater microphones) which were used by the US Navy during the Cold War to monitor the west coast of the U.S. :

NRDC

We regard this paper of NRDC (Natural Resources Defence Council) as a good introduction to the problem of noise in the sea:

WDCS

Also very informative is the following publication concerning noise by WDCS (the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society):

BBC site

A BBC site about the noisy ape, known as the human being, and the impacts of this species' behaviour:

Information from WDCS on military noise

Introductory information from WDCS (the Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society) about noise, produced by the military:

Greenpeace

A short article by Greenpeace about the topic:

Cornell University

The bioacoustics of whales has been examined for a decade by Cornell University, as well as the effect of noise on whales:

The Humane Society of the United States

The Humane Society of the United States is engaged in protecting marine mammals from noise, especially military sonar:

Whale welfare activists and the Navy

A lot of whale welfare activists wouldn’t link to a website of the Navy, because their naval maneuvers involving sonar are thought to be responsible for many strandings and dead whales. However, we want to point to this site on which the US Navy puts forward their point of view:

Acoustic Ecology Institute

A lot of good information about the topic from the non-profit organisation Acoustic Ecology Institute:

Hildebrand

Hildebrand: Impacts of anthropogenic sounds:

Fernández A et al

Fernández A et al: "Gas and Fat Embolic Syndrome’’ Involving a Mass Stranding of Beaked Whales (Family Ziphiidae) Exposed to Anthropogenic Sonar, Vet Pathol 42:446–457 (2005):

Gordon J

Gordon J: A review of the Effects of Seismic Surveys on Marine Mammals, Mar Tec Soc J 37(4):1-19 (2003):

Anthropogenic sound on beaked Whales

Cox TM: Understanding the impacts of anthropogenic sound on beaked Whales, J. Cetacean Res Manage 7(3):177-187 (2006):

The Ocean Acoustic Program

The Ocean Acoustic Program of NOAA Fisheries also held symposia concerning the problems of noise produced by ships:

A review of the impacts of noise on whales and dolphins, together with management and mitigation considerations

Weilgart, LS: The impacts of anthropogenic ocean noise on cetaceans and implications for management. Canadian Journal of Zoology 85: 1091-1116 (2007)