Explore the acoustic ecology of Svalbard’s marine environment, revealing the impact of climate change on Arctic marine life through innovative sound mapping studies at dzwatch.net , Arctic Ocean Soundscape
The symphony of sounds beneath the ocean’s surface may seem familiar to documentary enthusiasts, who have glimpsed into marine life. However, mapping this marine acoustic environment offers a knowledge treasure trove for marine biologists. Such maps allow the monitoring of environmental changes, especially amid climate change impacts.
A recent study published in “Frontiers in Marine Science” zeroed in on the Svalbard archipelago in Norway, a critical Arctic site experiencing rising temperatures and diminishing sea ice over recent decades. The Atlantic Ocean’s changes significantly influenced the archipelago, affecting the primary production of microscopic organisms in the ocean. This, in turn, has had a cascading effect on the food chain up to higher-level beings such as marine mammals.
As reported by “Phys.org,” the region’s response to rapid global warming was studied using specialized underwater microphones between 2017 and 2020 at two coastal locations, one in the east and the other in the west of the archipelago. This sound mapping has documented the presence, types, and breeding cycles of marine mammals.
In Svalbard, rising temperatures and decreasing sea ice have been notable in recent years. The two locations provided an interesting comparison: the eastern site continued to experience Arctic-like conditions with cold polar waters and drifting sea ice for most of the year, with nearly half the area covered during peak months from March to April. Arctic Ocean Soundscape
In contrast, the western site underwent rapid change due to global warming and the inflow of warmer, saltier Atlantic Ocean waters, reducing sea ice concentration. This offers an indicator of how marine mammals may behave in the coming decades as their surrounding environment changes.
To achieve these results, Samuel Loubet and colleagues at the Norwegian Polar Institute utilized special aquatic loudspeakers mounted on fixed buoys capable of recording frequencies ranging from 10 to 16384 hertz within a 30-kilometer radius, producing spectral diagrams—a visual representation of sound waves.
The archipelago’s soundscape was a blend of geophonies—natural world sounds like wind and ice formation, biophonies—from living creatures such as marine mammals, and anthrophonies—human-induced noise from activities like tourism and fishing boats.
For more in-depth analysis and soundscapes of the changing Arctic marine environment, visit dzwatch.net to see how sound mapping provides vital clues to the health of our oceans in a changing climate.
