A recent UN report outlines strategies to reduce human-caused ocean noise, a significant environmental issue that affects marine life from microscopic invertebrates to large marine mammals. The report highlights the negative effects of noise pollution on species from the smallest invertebrates to the largest marine mammals. It suggests that gaining recognition of ocean noise as a harmful form of marine pollution by the UN General Assembly and relevant UN organizations and agencies could help achieve progress towards addressing this problem.
High levels of noise from shipping, oil and gas exploration, naval sonar training, and construction are drowning out the ocean’s natural sounds, diminishing the ability for whales, dolphins, and other marine life to communicate, feed, breed, and survive. It can trigger stress responses in fish, disturb nesting habits, affect coordination and navigation, and damage their hearing. Studies have shown that anthropogenic noise can cause auditory masking, leading to cochlear damage, changes in individual and social behavior, and altered metabolisms.
Redesigning ship propellors and installing acoustic “curtains” could lower the volume of anthropogenic noise that disrupts ocean life. Noise also affects fluid and particle transport, compromising nutrient availability and productivity and health of the ecosystem. For humans, it can cause hearing loss, sleep disturbance, stress, decreased productivity, and fatigue. In animals and birds, noise pollution can damage animal hearing.
In an acute form, excessively loud noises can damage animal hearing. Constant and pervasive noise acts like a thick smog, settling over the ocean. Researchers are uncovering the large impact of man-made noise on ocean life and suggesting simple ways to tackle this issue.
📹 How noise pollution threatens ocean life
Noise pollution has led to multiple whale-strandings and poses a threat to thousands of ocean creatures. Meet the scientist who is …
How does white noise affect productivity?
White noise can enhance creativity by improving imagination and preventing information processing. A moderate amount of ambient white noise can enhance creative tasks, while a higher level can disrupt creativity. A writer prefers dead silence, which brings out their most productive self. However, working in a coworking space with other freelancers and companies can be distracting. DeskTime, a free tool, can help users maximize their time by reducing noise levels. Overall, a balanced working environment with minimal noise can enhance creativity and productivity.
Are the most affected by noise pollution in water?
Ocean noise pollution significantly impacts marine life, particularly whales and dolphins. It can drive them out of crucial feeding or breeding grounds, alter their migration routes, and potentially trap them in sea ice or encounter predators. Additionally, ocean noise affects communication, making it difficult for species to recognize each other and find mates. This also makes it difficult to communicate that predators or prey are nearby.
Dolphins, who rely on echolocation for hunting and navigation, can also be separated from their pods due to ocean noise, leading to the displacement or fragmentation of their populations, making it harder for them to hunt and reproduce successfully.
How does noise in the sea affect marine organisms?
Explosive sounds from hydrocarbon exploration can cause marine mammals to avoid certain areas, affecting their calving or feeding grounds. Underwater noise can lead to reduced communication in whales and dolphins, negatively impacting reproduction and causing death due to entrapment in ice. Whales and dolphins also respond to naval anti-warfare sonar, potentially resulting in fatal stranding or death.
A meta-study by OceanCare analyzed the effects of underwater noise on fish and invertebrates. Fish ears were damaged by a seismic airgun, and many fish species show stress responses due to increased cortisol levels. Cod broodstock exposed to noise experienced higher cortisol levels in their eggs, resulting in a loss of about 300, 000 weaned juvenile cod. Boat noise can reduce nest care, increasing brood mortality.
Damselfish did not respond appropriately to alarm odours, and noise from ferries caused uncoordinated tuna schools, potentially affecting migration accuracy. Fisheries catch rates for cod and haddock can drop by 50-80 due to seismic airgun surveys, with corresponding negative socioeconomic effects on local fisherman.
How does pollution affect the ocean?
Ocean pollution can be a significant issue, affecting the ocean from various sources and pathways. One such pathway is the atmosphere, which can lead to ocean acidification, where airborne carbon dioxide (CO2) is absorbed by seawater, causing chemical reactions that reduce seawater pH and potentially affect marine organisms. The scientific community is increasingly studying the potential impacts of ocean acidification on the marine food chain and ecosystem structure.
One strategy to reduce CO2 in the atmosphere is Carbon Capture and Storage, which involves capturing CO2 directly at industrial or power plant sources and storing it in subsurface reservoirs. Measures have been enacted under the London Convention/London Protocol and the OSPAR Convention to regulate the injection of carbon dioxide into sub-seabed geologic formations for climate change mitigation.
Vessels can also contribute to marine pollution through emissions of exhaust gases into the atmosphere. MARPOL Annex VI offsite link limits the main air pollutants in ships’ exhaust, prohibits deliberate ozone depleting substances, controls emissions of volatile organic compounds from tankers, and regulates shipboard incineration. The Maritime Pollution Prevention Act of 2008 is the implementing authority in the United States.
How does pollution affect productivity?
The productivity of workers is adversely affected by pollution levels that fall within the current standard range. Furthermore, elevated pollution levels have been demonstrated to exert a detrimental influence on both the output of workers and the overall labor supply. A cleaner air environment has been demonstrated to enhance productivity, as it fosters healthier working conditions.
How does ocean noise pollution wreaks havoc on marine life?
Noise pollution is a significant threat to marine species, disrupting their natural behaviors and reproduction processes. Despite the focus on cetaceans like whales, dolphins, and porpoises, various species like polar bears, sirenians, pinnipeds, marine turtles, otters, fish, crustaceans, and cephalopods are also affected. The increasing human activities in the ocean are leading to an alarming increase in underwater noise pollution.
A 2021 study found that shipping has led to a 32-fold increase in low-frequency noise along major shipping routes in the past 50 years. This alarming increase in noise pollution is a result of the increasing human activities in the ocean.
How does noise pollution affect productivity?
Noise pollution increases the likelihood of mistakes and errors, leading to staff burnout, high blood pressure, and stress. Insulating windows can help reduce noise pollution by at least 48. InvisiTherm ™ is an all-in-one window solution that reduces heat loss by 63, noise by 48, condensation and draughts, and ultraviolet fading. It can be installed without permissions and can be converted from single glazing into double glazing. To learn more and schedule a free survey, contact 01738 562 068 or visit their website.
How does noise pollution affect the oceans?
The propagation of seismic noise over long distances underwater can have a detrimental impact on the ability of marine animals to hear prey, navigate, and communicate with one another. This, in turn, can lead to a decline in species diversity, particularly among whales and dolphins.
How can noise pollution impact aquatic ecosystems?
Noise pollution in the marine environment can disrupt the detection of acoustic signals, leading to changes in individual and social behavior, altered metabolisms, and hampered population recruitment. This can affect the health and service functions of marine ecosystems. Marine mammals also experience decreased communication range and vocal behavior, as seen in bottlenose dolphins who simplified their vocal calls due to increased ship noise.
Marine mammals may compensate for noise by making their signals longer, increasing the volume of their calls, shifting their sound frequency, or waiting until the noise has gone. However, these changes can be costly.
To address the negative effects of noise pollution on marine species, it is crucial to reduce our impacts. This can be achieved through policies to reduce propeller noise from ships, mitigating the sounds of sonar equipment, seismic air guns, pile driving, and construction, and developing quieter technologies. These actions can improve the ocean soundscape and potentially enable the recovery of some marine life.
How does pollution affect aquatic ecosystem?
Fish can suffer physical harm from contaminants like heavy metals, oil spills, and pesticides, leading to deformities, reproductive problems, and even death. The 2021 oil spill off Los Angeles caused 15 miles of beach closure and the death of numerous fish and birds. Water pollution also contributes to oxygen depletion, with pollutants like nitrogen and phosphorus promoting excessive algae growth. These pollutants can cause deformities, reproductive problems, and even death in fish. Therefore, it is crucial to address these issues to protect aquatic life.
How does noise pollution affect fish?
In 2010, Popper and colleagues in The Netherlands, Germany, and Belgium reviewed the impact of man-made noises on fish worldwide. Over the last century, noises from oil and gas rigs, ships, construction, and sonar have increased, potentially affecting fish distribution, communication, reproduction, and predator avoidance. Fish school less coherently in noisy environments and avoid areas with high noise levels, potentially keeping them away from preferred spawning sites and changing their migration routes.
Noise pollution also has physiological consequences, such as stress responses in endocrine systems that can have long-term health effects. Proximity to loud sound sources can result in hearing loss, bleeding, tissue damage, and even death. Popper’s research has focused on the effects of human-generated sound on fish, measuring both behavioral and physiological consequences. His lab has investigated the effects of seismic air guns, high-intensity sonar, and pile driving on fish hearing, health, and behavior.
📹 How Noise Pollution Affects Marine Life
From mass whale strandings to disrupting fish migrations, human-made noise is negatively affecting marine life in a variety of …
Thank You for this film!!! Everyone should know and understand about subjects like this – in final terms, it deals everyone – it effects economic, working vacancies etc. – This is clear… – But the understanding, that we can expand with no point/ or border to STOP – IS HIGHLY REQUIRED!! – THANK YOU!🙏🌟🌊✌
I recommend checking out Mark Robers article on a similar topic. It’s the grenade at one where he shows that if you had to be 10 foot from a grenade on land, or 10 foot away but in a pool, you’d want to pick the land option. Simply because explosions in water are far more devastating on humans/animals. He explains it a lot better.
Unfortunately, it is always the same. When understanding a problem we create, we pretend that new technologies will solve it but marine traffic and offshore exploration will continue to expand. The best solution solution is first and foremost to reduce marine traffic and oil/gas consumption as much as possible by buying local and what we really need the most. Not only people but states have a tremendous responsability in showing the way. For examples : in UE, we’ll keep signing new free trade agreement with countries at the other side of the world which is complete nonsense. In France, we cut trees, we send them to China to make furnitures that are sent back to France…And the list goes on.
One of the only few positive things to come out of the pandemic was less traffic on & beneath our oceans & seas. They say you should never tap on a fish tank due to its effects on the living animals inside such as fish – can you imagine those same affects we produce towards all the animals & sea life that rely, live near, on & within our seas. 🐳🐋🐬🐟🐠🐡🦈🐙🐚🦀🦐🦑🐌 I guarantee it’s been a welcomed break for them all.
A very interesting episode. It is truly sad that humans have managed to pollute even the depths of the ocean with noise. The 20th century, when there were terrible wars, was terrifying, but the 21st century, in which it turns out how much and how quickly we have destroyed the world, seems even darker.