“For the first time a boat will be permanently equipped with state-of-the-art sensors and will undertake sound mapping of the oceans on a scale so far unprecedented”.
Pietro Godenzi, President of Fondation Pacifique
20.000 sounds under the sea
A unique programme to sense the deep-ocean sounds during a 4-year expedition around the globe
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.
OCEAN MAPPING EXPEDITION
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.
Currently: half way
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.
SOUNDS
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.
SCIENTIFIC BASE
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.
A unique opportunity
A unique opportunity to conduct a worldwide état des lieux of ocean noise Such a programme is only possible if data are available at a large spatial and temporal scale. The Ocean Mapping Expedition 4-year expedition around the globe onboard Fleur de Passion offers a unique opportunity to conduct a worldwide “état des lieux” of the deep-ocean sounds, an acoustic map of the oceans to identify possible acoustic conflicts of interest and provide society with solutions to give back to the oceans an important acoustic balance, a natural environment for sounds and silences. Through the real-time analysis of the information provided by the online connection to Fleur de Passion, the Laboratory of Applied Bioacoustics (LAB) of the Technical University of Catalonia, BarcelonaTech (UPC) is continuously monitoring noise levels along the expedition route.
Currently: half way
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