Measuring the pulse of earth’s global ocean: Ocean sound and marine life interagency working group

Abstract

The “Measuring the Pulse of Earth’s Global Ocean” project will attempt to quantify sound levels in what should be the quietest parts of the ocean—the five deepest locations—to gauge the baseline level of sound in these remote ocean areas. Ocean noise from humanmade sources of sound (e.g., shipping) can have a detrimental effect on marine animals that use sound to sense their environment. Thus noise can negatively impact the health of marine ecosystems, which are the basis for many sectors of the global “Blue” economy, including commercial fisheries and aquaculture. This project will gather unique baseline data to monitor the “acoustic health” of the oceans. A novel, deep-ocean capable hydrophone-lander system will be deployed at each of these five deep-sea sites (all >7 km deep). The project will involve the collaboration of several U.S. governmental agencies, private industry and NGOs, and international partners to access these global locations. We will collaborate with scientists from each of these five sites to deploy, recover, and analyze this deep ocean acoustic data. Our ocean sound program aspires to develop a robust and inclusive education/outreach program, focusing on the impact of underwater noise on the health of marine ecosystems.