Context

In the latest development, scientists have come together to understand the impact of reduced anthrophony (human-made sounds) due to the COVID-19 pandemic on the marine ecosystem.

In this regard, the International Quiet Ocean Experiment (IQOE) has identified a network of over 200 non-military hydrophones (underwater microphones) in oceans across the world.

About

What is oceanic acoustics?

• Ocean acoustics refers to the study of sound and its behavior in the waters.
• When underwater objects vibrate, they create sound-pressure waves that alternately compress and decompress the water molecules as the sound wave travels through the sea.
• Sound waves radiate in all directions away from the source like ripples on the surface of a pond.
• The compressions and decompressions associated with sound waves are detected as changes in pressure by the structures in our ears and most man-made sound receptors such as a hydrophone, or underwater microphone.
• Components: The three broad components of oceanic acoustics are
  • geophony (sounds created by non-biological natural events like earthquakes, waves, and bubbling),
  • biophony (sounds created by the ocean’s living creatures)
  • anthrophony

How will it be done?

• The underwater microphones would pick up even faraway low-frequency signals from whales and other marine animals, as well as those emanated by human activities.
• The researchers will do a comparative study of this quantitative picture of the ocean acoustics and other sets of data on marine life collected through methods such as animal tagging.
• This will help them understand how the soundscape of the oceans is changing and how it impacts marine life.

International Quiet Ocean Experiment The International Quiet Ocean Experiment was originally formed in 2011 by experts who wanted to create a time series of measurements of ambient sound in different ocean locations. The main aim behind the initiative was to reveal variability and changes in intensity and other properties of sound at a range of frequencies. Then 2020 came along, and presented a unique – and potentially unrepeatable – opportunity to compare ocean soundscapes in ‘business-as-usual and ‘quiet mode’.