The Sense of Silence Foundation programme 20,000 Sounds under the Sea is mapping noise pollution in a world tour in the Southern Hemisphere. The study, which part of the Ocean Mapping Expedition (http://omexpedition.ch) funded by Fondation Pacifique, is being carried out on board the Swiss ship Fleur de Passion, which is sailing around the world for four years with the aim of measuring human impact on oceans and contributing to the scientific debate surrounding the effects of human activities at sea. The Ocean Mapping Expedition, which was presented on March 12, 2015 in Geneva (Switzerland), and was launched on April 12, has being organized in the framework of the 500th anniversary of Ferdinand Magellan’s voyage exploring new sea routes in the Pacific.
The Sense of Silence Foundation programme 20,000 Sounds under the Sea is mapping noise pollution in a world tour in the Southern Hemisphere. The study, which part of the Ocean Mapping Expedition (http://omexpedition.ch) funded by Fondation Pacifique, is being carried out on board the Swiss ship Fleur de Passion, which is sailing around the world for four years with the aim of measuring human impact on oceans and contributing to the scientific debate surrounding the effects of human activities at sea. The Ocean Mapping Expedition, which was presented on March 12, 2015 in Geneva (Switzerland), and was launched on April 12, has being organized in the framework of the 500th anniversary of Ferdinand Magellan’s voyage exploring new sea routes in the Pacific.
Sound and sound detection appears to be critical parts of the lives of marine mammals and fish. Many of these animals use sound for communication amongst members of their species. But equally important is the idea that probably all of these species use sound to learn about their environment and to survive. Therefore, there should be concern not only about the impact of anthropogenic sounds on communication but also about the impact on general extraction of information from the environment. A fundamental question is whether the impact of anthropogenic sounds on marine mammals and the marine ecosystem is sufficiently great to warrant alarm by both the scientific community and the public. The data currently available suggest that such interest is indeed justified.
Sound and sound detection appears to be critical parts of the lives of marine mammals and fish. Many of these animals use sound for communication amongst members of their species. But equally important is the idea that probably all of these species use sound to learn about their environment and to survive. Therefore, there should be concern not only about the impact of anthropogenic sounds on communication but also about the impact on general extraction of information from the environment. A fundamental question is whether the impact of anthropogenic sounds on marine mammals and the marine ecosystem is sufficiently great to warrant alarm by both the scientific community and the public. The data currently available suggest that such interest is indeed justified.
However, our knowledge is still quite limited, and it is therefore very important to develop programmes such as 20’000 Sounds under the Sea that help establishing a scientific base that allows to 1) automatically identify and classify non biological and biological sounds, 2) monitor marine organisms and population dynamics, 3) assess and control the effects of anthropogenic sources on marine organisms.
However, our knowledge is still quite limited, and it is therefore very important to develop programmes such as 20’000 Sounds under the Sea that help establishing a scientific base that allows to 1) automatically identify and classify non biological and biological sounds, 2) monitor marine organisms and population dynamics, 3) assess and control the effects of anthropogenic sources on marine organisms.
Un mapa del ruido que acorrala a los habitantes del mar show more…