By Joel Goldberg
Ocean sounds can help people sleep at night, but marine animals depend on them to survive. Take dolphins, which rely on echolocation to hunt and ‘click’ to communicate with their pods. Such species are in trouble because ocean noise, or anthropophony, has increased significantly since the Industrial Revolution.
Vessels alone have reduced the low-frequency volume along shipping routes an estimated 32 times. This is coupled with harsh tones of sonar, seismic surveys, pole driving and even motorboats (all of which can be heard in the video above), which can trap whales and trap narwhals in the ice by slowing down their migration, according to a review that was published last year. week in Science.
In the newspaper it is noted that climate change also threatens the soundtrack of the sea. The Great Barrier Reef has become quiet over the years as it has shrunk in size and become less habitable. Animals that rely on the sounds of coral reefs to locate food and bring about settlements may struggle to adapt.
The authors argue that the breakdown of man-made sound in the ocean should be a core component of environmental policy. And they say it can be done: A study conducted at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic, for example, found that a reduction in shipping coincided with an average decrease of 1.5 decibels in waters along shipping lanes near the Port of Vancouver.