9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In 1956,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
a documentary by Jacque Cousteau[br]won both the Palm d'Or

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and an Oscar award.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
This film was called[br]"Le Monde de Silence,"

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
or, "The Silent World."

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And the premise of the title

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
was that the underwater world[br]was a quiet world.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We now know 60 years later

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that the underwater world[br]is anything but silent.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Although the sounds[br]are inaudible above water

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
depending on where you are[br]and the time of year,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the underwater soundscape can be[br]as noisy as any jungle or rainforest.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Invertebrates like snapping shrimp,[br]fish and marine mammals

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
all use sound.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They use sound to study their habitat,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to keep in communication with each other,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to navigate,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to detect predators and prey.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And they also use sound by listening[br]to know something about their environment.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Take for an example, the arctic.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It's considered a vast,[br]inhospitable place,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
sometimes described as a desert

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
because it is so cold and so remote,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and ice-covered much of the year.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And despite this,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
there is no place on Earth[br]that I would rather be than the Arctic,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
especially as days lengthen[br]and spring comes.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
To me,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the Arctic really embodies this disconnect[br]between what we see on the surface

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and what's going on under water.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
You can look out across the ice,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
all white and blue and cold,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and see nothing.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But if you could hear underwater,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the sounds you would hear[br]would at first amaze

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and then delight you.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And while your eyes are seeing nothing[br]for kilometers but ice,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
your ears are telling you that out there[br]are bowhead and beluga whales,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
walrus and beared deals.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
The ice, too, makes sounds.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It screeches and cracks[br]and pops and groans

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
as it collides and rubs when temperature[br]or currents and winds change.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And under 100 percent sea ice[br]in the dead of winter,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Bowhead whales are singing.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And you would never expect that

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
because we humans,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we tend to be very visual animals.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
For most of us --

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
but not all --

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
our sense of sight is how[br]we navigate our world.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
For marine mammals that live underwater,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
where chemical cues and light[br]transmit poorly,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
sound is the sense by which they see.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And sound transmits very well under water,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
much better than it does in air,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
so signals can be heard[br]over great distances.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In the Arctic,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
this is especially important

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
because not only do Arctic marine[br]mammals have to hear each other,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
but they also have to listen[br]for cues in the environment

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that might indicate[br]heavy ice ahead or open water.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Remember, although they spend[br]most of their lives underwater,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
they are mammals,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and so they have to surface to breathe.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So they might listen[br]for thin ice or no ice,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
or listen for echoes off nearby ice.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Arctic marine animals live in a rich[br]and very underwater soundscape.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In the spring,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
it can be a cacophony of sound.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Arctic sound)

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But when the ice is frozen solid,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and there are no big temperature[br]shifts or current changes,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the underwater Arctic has some[br]of the lowest ambient noise levels

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
of the world's oceans.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But this is changing.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
This is primarily due to a decrease[br]in seasonal sea ice,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
which is a direct result of human[br]greenhouse gas emissions.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We are in effect,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
with climate change,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
conducting a completely uncontrolled[br]experiment with our planet.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Over the past 30 years,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
areas of the Arctic have seen[br]decreases in seasonal sea ice

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
from anywhere from[br]six weeks to four months.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
This decrease in sea ice is sometimes[br]referred to as an increase

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
in the open water season.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
That is the time of year when[br]the Arctic is navigatable to vessels.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And not only is the extent[br]of ice changing,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
but the age and the width of ice is, too.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Now, you may well have heard

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that a decrease in sea ice is causing[br]a loss of habitat for animals

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that rely on sea ice,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
such as ice seals,[br]or walrus, or polar bears.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Decreasing sea ice is also causing[br]increased erosion

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
along coastal villages,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and changing prey availability[br]from marine birds and mammals.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Climate change and decreases in sea ice

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
are also altering the underwater[br]sound scape of the Arctic.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
What do I mean by soundscape?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Those of us who eavesdrop[br]on the oceans for a living

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
use instruments called hydrophones,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
which are underwater microphones,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and we record ambient noise --

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the noise all around us.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And the soundscape describes[br]the different contributors

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to this noise field.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
What we are hearing on our hydrophones

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
are the very real sounds[br]of climate change.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We are hearing these changes[br]from three fronts:

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
from the air,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
from the water

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and from land.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
First, air.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Wind on water creates waves.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
These waves make bubbles;

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the bubbles break.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And when they do,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
they make noise.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And this noise is like a hiss[br]or a static in the background.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
In the Arctic when it's ice-covered,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
most of the noise from wind[br]doesn't make it into the water column

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
because they ice acts as a buffer[br]between the atmosphere and the water.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And this is one of the reasons

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that the Arctic can have very low[br]ambient noise levels.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But with decreases in seasonal sea ice,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
not only is the Artic now open[br]to this wave noise,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
but the number storms

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and the intensity of storms[br]in the Arctic has been increasing.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
All of this is raising noise levels[br]in a previously quiet ocean.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Second --

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
water.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
With less seasonal sea ice,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
sub-Arctic species are moving North,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and taking advantage of the new habitat[br]that is created by more open water.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Now, Arctic whales,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
like this Bowhead,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
they have no dorsal fin

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
because they have evolved to live[br]and swim in ice-covered waters,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and having something sticking[br]off of your back is not very conducive

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to migrating through ice,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and may, in fact, be excluding[br]animals from the ice.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But now, everywhere we've listened,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we're hearing the sounds[br]of Fin whales and Humpback whales

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and Killer whales,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
further and further North,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and later and later in the season.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We are hearing, in essence,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
an invasion of the Arctic[br]by sub-Arctic species.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And we don't know what this means.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Will there be competition for food

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
between Arctic and sub-Arctic animals?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Might this sub-Arctic species[br]introduce diseases

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
or parasites into the Arctic?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And what are the new sounds[br]that they are producing

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
doing to the soundscape under water?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And third --

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
land.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And by land, I mean people.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
More open water means increased[br]human use of the Arctic.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Just this past summer,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
a massive cruise ship made its way[br]through the Northwest passage --

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the once mythical route between[br]Europe and the Pacific.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Decreases in sea ice have allowed[br]humans to occupy the Arctic more often.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It has allowed increases in oil[br]and gas exploration and extraction,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
the potential for commercial shipping,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
as well as increased tourism.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And we now know that ship noise increases[br]levels of stress hormones in whales,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and can disrupt feeding behavior.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Air guns,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
which produce loud,[br]low-frequency "whoomps"

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
every 10 to 20 seconds,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
changed the swimming and vocal[br]behavior of whales.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And all of these sound sources[br]are decreasing the acoustic space

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
over which Arctic marine mammals[br]can communicate.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Now, Arctic marine mammals are used to[br]very high levels of noise

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
at certain times of the year.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But this is primarily from other[br]animals or from sea ice,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and these are the sounds[br]with which they've evolved,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and these are sounds that are vital[br]to their very survival.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
These new sounds[br]are loud and they're alien.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
They might impact the environment[br]in ways that we think we understand,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
but also in ways that we don't.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Remember, sound is the most[br]important sense for these animals.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And not only is the physical habitat[br]of the Arctic changing rapidly,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
but the acoustic habitat is, too.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It's as if we've plucked these animals up[br]from the quiet countryside

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and dropped them into a big city[br]in the middle of rush hour.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And they can't espcape it.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So what can we do now?

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We can't decrease wind speeds

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
or keep sub-Arctic animals[br]from migrating north,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
but we can work on local solutions

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
to reducing human-caused[br]underwater noise.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
One of these solutions[br]is to slow down ships

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that traverse the Arctic,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
because a slower ship is a quieter ship.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We can restrict access[br]in seasons and regions

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that are important for mating,[br]or feeding or migrating.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
We can get smarter about quieting ships,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
and find better ways[br]to explore the ocean bottom.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And the good news is,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
there are people[br]working on this right now.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
But ultimately,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
we humans have to do the hard work

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
of reversing or at the very[br]least decelerating

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
human-caused atmospheric changes.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
So let's return to this idea[br]of a silent world under water.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
It's entirely possible

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that many of the whales[br]swimming in the Arctic today,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
especially long-lived species[br]like the bowhead whale

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
that the Inuits say can live[br]two human lives --

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
it's possible that these whales[br]were alive in 1956

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
when Jacques Cousteau made his film.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
And in retrospect,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
considering all the noise[br]we are creating in the oceans today,

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
perhaps it really was "The Silent World."

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
Thank you.

9:59:59.000,9:59:59.000
(Applause)