For humans, light is the most important thing for orientation. But if you lived under water, it would not be light, but sound that was most important. – Under water, sound can propagate roughly from the South Pole to the North Pole under the right conditions, says Geir Pedersen from the Institute of Marine Research (HI). But there is about 10 dB more sound in the sea every decade. Now it’s starting to get really noisy. Both people feel it and the pain on their bodies. 3100 percent noisier in 50 years The sea has never been quiet. The noise has come from animals communicating, underwater earthquakes, rain and wind. There was a lot of noise in the sea even before the people started making noise. From 1950 to 2000, shipping traffic doubled worldwide, according to the Norwegian Institute of Marine Research. This meant that the sound intensity doubled every decade during the period. In 2000, the sound intensity in the sea was 32 times stronger than in 1950. Or put another way: The noise increased by 3300 percent from 1950 to 2020. Shipping in particular, and a large increase in ship traffic, is the reason why there is an increase of background noise for the animals in the sea. But fisheries and military activity in the sea also play a role. Photo: Deanna Marie Leonard – We have contributed an awful lot to increasing the sound level in the sea, says Geir Pedersen, researcher on ecosystem acoustics at the Institute of Marine Research (HI). Modern ships, with propellers and engines, have played the main role. – The bigger the ship, the louder it gets. There will be global background noise, especially at ports, says Pedersen. Geir Pedersen, senior researcher and project manager for “LoVe Ocean” at the Institute of Marine Research. They research the soundscape in the sea. Photo: Christine Fagerbakke / HI – What’s up with the pain? – Either they are not able to communicate as far, or they have to use more energy to communicate, says Pedersen at HI. The tormentors simply have to shout louder to each other in all the noise from the boats. – Does that mean that the pain will be worse? – There is no proof of that, but maybe? At least we know that the pain must increase in strength or increase in frequency, says Pedersen. More noise for the people too Now you’re probably wondering where the people come in. It is the case that it is not just the suffering that is affected by more noise. People have also had to get used to a noisier weekday, says senior researcher at the Institute of Public Health, Gunn Marit Aasvang. – More and more people are exposed to road traffic noise. The reason for that is centralization. More people are moving to busy areas. Since 1999, Statistics Norway has mapped how much noise humans are affected by. FHI’s overview shows how much noise we humans are exposed to from various sources. The noise has been measured from 1999–2019. The darkest blue color is from 2019, the lightest is from 1999. Photo: FHI There has been more noise especially in road traffic. It is simply because the number of vehicles is increasing. Although several measures have been taken to reduce the noise, both on the road and with noise screens and embankments. – What does it do to us that there is more noise around us? – Noise is disruptive and distracting to us as well. This means that we also have to speak louder and this can cause concentration problems. Gunn Marit Aasvang is a senior researcher at the Institute of Public Health and researches what noise we are affected by, and how it affects us. Photo: Hanne Tharaldsen / National Institute of Public Health In addition, researchers know that we sleep worse and have more fragmented sleep when there is noise. It makes us more stressed both at night and during the day. Over time, it can increase the risk of cardiovascular disease, obesity and diabetes. Do you get more stressed by noise around you? No, I don’t notice it that much when there is a lot of noise around me. Yes, I know that I get both stressed and irritated. I haven’t thought much about it, but maybe? Show result – Noise contains many different feelings such as frustration, irritation and exasperation, says Aasvang. – It is not so surprising that the noise of us humans also goes beyond the pain. But they have no use for it. Hearing researcher at FHI, Bo Engdahl, says that sound does not propagate in the same way in air as in water. For every doubling of distance, the sound in the air is reduced by 6 dB Photo: Inge Wegge Norwegian Defense Research Institute: – Do they get stressed In 2017, noise in the sea officially became part of EU regulations. Underwater noise is now seen as pollution. It was then decided to start measuring the noise. Because noise in the sea can make life more difficult for the animals that live there, in the same way as other types of pollution. Some have even claimed that, for example, suffering can die. Therefore, the Norwegian Defense Research Institute (FFI) has started several research projects on hearing in quail. Researcher Petter Kvadsheim says that, among other things, Bardekvaler and Vågekvaler are heard more than they thought before. Now Petter Kvadsheim and the other researchers at FFI are researching how a new type of sonar signal that is much more continuous, even if it is at a lower sound level, affects quail. Photo: Erlend Astad Lorentzen / Institute of Marine Research – They perceive more of the man-made noise than we previously assumed. What we have found may have consequences both for the defense and others involved in noisy activity, says Kvadsheim. There have been cases where the divers have probably developed diving sickness and have thus been “startled” on the beach by loud noises. – We know that seismicity or military activities cause them to leave the area. It can mean that they swim away from food where they had intended to eat, for example, he says. – We know that they get stressed and that they get a greater burden. It is also about the fact that the noise level is still increasing. – Can be fatal Audun Rikardsen says that it is difficult to map how much stress the ants get from sound, because sound can be so different. – Kovalar communicates between itself and other animals with sound. They send out a sound signal which they receive back and map the surroundings using it. Audun Rikardsen is a biologist and professor of arctic and marine biology at UIT Norway’s Arctic University. Photo: Fredrik Broms It affects the quails negatively. The noise makes it more difficult to use echolocation. – The positive thing is that some noise can be like a food bell for the anxieties. Killer whales or Knølkval have learned the sound of trawlers’ winches. A dizzying herring buffet is served where tropical currents collide with the Arctic Ocean. But where sea meets land, only the toughest make it. But if it’s a sound that happens suddenly and is difficult to escape from, it can be dramatic, explains Rikardsen. – It can be directly or indirectly fatal. – I don’t know if they sing higher or in other frequencies. It must be in an area where there is a lot of noise, especially from fishing boats. It is not improbable.
ttn-69
The whales must shout louder than before – so must the humans. Negative health effects on everyone – news Nordland
