When you envision the North Pole, you likely imagine a vast, icy wonderland devoid of life. Noise might be the last thing on your mind.
However, recent findings from a study published in npj Acoustics reveal that the underwater soundscape is far more expansive and diverse than we previously thought. This raises crucial questions about how to monitor and protect this unique environment.
Analyzing a decade’s worth of underwater sound data from Cambridge Bay in the Canadian Arctic, researchers discovered that climate change is accelerating ice loss, reshaping the region’s underwater soundscape—an alteration that could have serious ramifications for local wildlife.
“Climate change is more than tripling in the Arctic, which means ice is melting faster, melting earlier, and reforming later,” stated Dr. Philippe Blondel, the lead author of the study and a senior lecturer in the Department of Physics at the University of Bath, UK, in an interview with BBC Science Focus.
“As a result, the Arctic becomes more accessible for human activities. Navigation becomes easier for ships in an ice-free environment. A key finding from our research is that while ships generate noise, they are not the only contributors.”
The study identifies that not only large ships—often the focus of noise pollution regulations—but also other significant sources such as snowmobiles, aircraft, and smaller vessels contribute to underwater noise. Many of these smaller noise sources evade detection by satellite systems, leading to gaps in models that rely solely on vessel position data.
Vital Arctic species, including whales and seals, depend on sound for communication, navigation, finding food, and evading predators. With increasing underwater noise both in frequency and volume, these essential communication tools are increasingly compromised.
Dr. Blondel likens the situation to standing next to a busy freeway. “You might only hear the ambient noise, but when a motorcycle rushes by, that high-frequency noise disrupts your ability to hear music.”
“When a large truck thunders past, it becomes nearly impossible to hear anything else.”
In a similar manner, one sound source could disrupt a whale trying to communicate with its calves, while another noise at a different frequency might drive the whale away from critical feeding areas.
However, the research team is not advocating for total silence in the Arctic. Instead, Blondel proposes that environmental policies should encompass a broader array of frequencies beyond the narrow “transport bands” typically measured in protection frameworks, such as the European Maritime Strategy Framework Directive.
He recommends establishing stricter shipping routes in the increasingly ice-free Arctic and implementing varying speed limits depending on wildlife presence, as potential strategies to mitigate harmful noise pollution.
Yet, enforcing such regulations poses challenges, as they would need to encompass everything from large vessels to smaller crafts, and the region is bordered by multiple nations.
“My primary goal was to demonstrate that when assessing the ocean’s soundscape, we need to consider all sound sources, not just large ships,” Blondel emphasized. “But my overarching aim is to establish some form of framework in the Arctic. We must devise effective noise guidelines before the situation worsens further.”
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Source: www.sciencefocus.com
