Atlantic Canadian companies trying to turn down dial on ocean noise

Atlantic Canadian companies trying to turn down dial on ocean noise

Noise levels in the world’s oceans are rising and some startups in Atlantic Canada are hoping technological advancements can lessen the impact on marine animals.

The increased ocean noise is due to industrial and military activities. Much of it comes from shipping — as marine traffic escalates, noise is growing by roughly three decibels a decade, which amounts to a doubling of sound intensity.

This shift is reshaping the environment for marine animals, such as whales and dolphins, who rely on sound to navigate, mate, feed and communicate.

“Every time … background noise is louder, then whales’ communication range is shrunk by an exponential component, so what used to be maybe half the ocean that they could hear over … has now shrunk to a pinprick,” said Lindy Weilgart, senior ocean policy consultant for the NGO OceanCare and adjunct professor at Dalhousie University in Halifax.

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