Far below the ocean’s surface, a cacophony of industrial noise is hampering the ability of cetaceans to breed, feed and even escape from predators, scientists warn.
With rumbling vessels, hammer oil drills and ever-increasing seismic exploration explosions, humans have dramatically altered the underwater noise – in some cases deafening or disturbing pigs- dolphins and other marine mammals that rely on sound for navigation, researchers report in a metastudy published online Thursday and in Friday’s edition of the journal Science which examines more than 500 research papers.
Even the cracking of glaciers that creep into polar oceans and the retreat of water falling on the surface of deep underwater waters can be heard, said lead author Carlos Duarte, a marine scientist at the University of Science and King Abdullah Technology in Saudi Arabia.
“It’s a huge problem that is definitely weakening the animals all the way from individuals to populations,” Duarte said in an interview. “This is a growing problem, one that is global in scope. ”
These sounds and their effects need more attention from scientists and policy makers, especially the effects on sea turtles and reptiles, seabirds, seals, walruses and mammals that eat plants such as manatees. , the study says. The international team of researchers called for a global regulatory framework for the measurement and control of marine noise.
Much of the noise that people cause should be easy to reduce, Duarte said. For example, measures such as building quieter boat engines and shells and using drilling techniques that do not cause bubbles and earthquakes could cut sound pollution in half, he said. Using the world more renewable energy would reduce the need to drill for oil and gas.
The benefits to marine life could be staggering, he said, noting a resurgence in marine activity in April 2020 when shipping noise, usually near coasts, died when countries -into a lock during COVID-19 pandemic.
But not only have humans added sound to the ocean, they have also eliminated natural noises, the study found.
Whales in the 1900s, for example, took millions of whales away from the world’s oceans – along with much of their whale song. And the chirp and chatter around coral reefs is becoming quieter as more corals die from marine warming, acidification and pollution.
Climate change has also altered the soundscape in warming parts of the ocean by altering the mix of animals that live there, along with the sounds they make.
Geographer Kate Stafford at the University of Washington Applied Physics Laboratory praised the timing of the metastasis, as the United Nations calls on governments to set aside 30% of the world’s land and sea for conservation.
“The review makes it clear, to reduce anthrophony [human noise] and aiming for a well-governed future … we need global co-operation between governments, ”said Stafford.