How climate change is altering the underwater soundscape | Kate Stafford | TEDxCERN
-
0:20 - 0:24In 1956, a documentary by Jacques Cousteau
-
0:24 - 0:28won both the Palme d'Or
and an Oscar award. -
0:28 - 0:31This film was called
"Le monde Du silence," -
0:31 - 0:33or "The silent world."
-
0:34 - 0:39The premise of the title was
the underwater world was a quiet world. -
0:40 - 0:42We now know, 60 years later,
-
0:42 - 0:46that the underwater world
is anything but silent. -
0:46 - 0:49Although the sounds
are inaudible above water, -
0:49 - 0:52depending upon where you are
and the time of year, -
0:52 - 0:58the underwater soundscape can be
as noisy as any jungle or rain forest. -
0:58 - 1:05Invertebrates, like snapping shrimp,
fish, and marine mammals all use sound. -
1:05 - 1:08They use sound to study their habitat,
-
1:08 - 1:11to keep in communication
with each other, to navigate, -
1:11 - 1:14to detect predators and prey.
-
1:14 - 1:19They also use sound by listening
to know something about their environment. -
1:19 - 1:22Take, for an example, the Arctic.
-
1:23 - 1:26It's considered a vast,
inhospitable place, -
1:26 - 1:28sometimes describes as a desert,
-
1:28 - 1:34because it is so cold, and so remote,
and ice-covered for much of the year. -
1:34 - 1:40Despite this, there is no place on earth
that I would rather be than the Arctic. -
1:40 - 1:44Especially as days lengthen
and spring comes. -
1:45 - 1:49To me, the Arctic
really embodies this disconnect -
1:49 - 1:54between what we see on the surface,
and what's going on underwater. -
1:55 - 2:00You can look out across the ice
- all white, and blue, and cold - -
2:01 - 2:02and see nothing.
-
2:03 - 2:05But if you could hear underwater,
-
2:05 - 2:10the sounds you would hear
would at first amaze and then delight you. -
2:11 - 2:15While your eyes are seeing nothing
for kilometers but ice, -
2:15 - 2:18your ears are telling you that out there
-
2:18 - 2:23are bowhead and beluga whales,
walruses, and bearded seals. -
2:24 - 2:26The ice too make sounds.
-
2:26 - 2:31It screeches, and cracks, and pops,
and groans as it collides and rubs -
2:31 - 2:34when temperature,
or currents, or winds change. -
2:35 - 2:39And under 100% sea ice,
in the dead of winter, -
2:40 - 2:42bowhead whales are singing.
-
2:43 - 2:45You would never expect that,
-
2:45 - 2:51because we humans,
we tend to be very visual animals. -
2:51 - 2:53For most of us, but not all,
-
2:53 - 2:57our sense of sight is
how we navigate our world. -
2:57 - 2:59For marine mammals that live underwater,
-
2:59 - 3:03where chemical cues
and light transmit poorly, -
3:03 - 3:07sound is the sense by which they see.
-
3:07 - 3:11Sound transmits very well underwater,
much better than it does in air. -
3:11 - 3:15So signals can be heard
over great distances. -
3:15 - 3:18In the Arctic, this is
especially important -
3:18 - 3:21because not only do Arctic marine mammals
have to hear each other -
3:21 - 3:25but they also have to listen
for cues in the environment -
3:25 - 3:29that might indicate
heavy ice ahead or open water. -
3:29 - 3:33Remember, although they spend
most of their lives underwater, -
3:33 - 3:37they are mammals,
so they have to surface to breathe. -
3:37 - 3:41They might listen for thin ice or no ice
-
3:41 - 3:44or listen for echoes off nearby ice.
-
3:45 - 3:51Arctic marine mammals live in a rich
and varied underwater soundscape. -
3:51 - 3:54In the spring, it can be
a cacophony of sound. -
3:54 - 3:57(Buzzing, whizzing, squeaking,
whistling, wailing sounds) -
4:11 - 4:14But when the ice is frozen solid,
-
4:14 - 4:18and there's no big temperature shifts
or current changes, -
4:18 - 4:22the underwater Arctic has
some of the lowest ambient noise levels -
4:22 - 4:24of the world's oceans.
-
4:24 - 4:26But this is changing.
-
4:26 - 4:30Climate change and decreases
in sea ice are also altering -
4:30 - 4:34the underwater soundscape of the Arctic,
-
4:34 - 4:38which is a direct result
of human greenhouse gas emissions. -
4:38 - 4:41We are, in effect, with climate change,
-
4:41 - 4:45conducting a completely
uncontrolled experiment with our planet. -
4:46 - 4:48Over the past 30 years,
-
4:48 - 4:52areas of the Arctic have seen
decreases in seasonal sea ice -
4:52 - 4:57from anywhere
from six weeks to four months. -
4:57 - 5:00This decrease in sea ice
is sometimes referred to -
5:00 - 5:03as an increase in the open water season,
-
5:03 - 5:07that is the time of year
when the Arctic is navigable to vessels. -
5:07 - 5:10Not only is the extent of ice changing
-
5:11 - 5:15but the age and the width of ice is too.
-
5:15 - 5:18You may well have heard
that a decrease in seasonal sea ice -
5:18 - 5:22is causing loss of habitat
for animals that rely on sea ice -
5:22 - 5:26such as ice seals,
or walruses, or polar bears. -
5:27 - 5:31Decreasing sea ice is also causing
increased erosion along coastal villages -
5:31 - 5:35and changing prey availability
for marine birds and mammals. -
5:36 - 5:41Climate change and decreases
in sea ice are also altering -
5:41 - 5:44the underwater soundscape of the Arctic.
-
5:44 - 5:46What do I mean by soundscape?
-
5:47 - 5:50Those of us who eavesdrop
on the oceans for a living -
5:50 - 5:54use instruments called hydrophones,
which are underwater microphones. -
5:54 - 5:58We record ambient noise,
the noise all around us. -
5:58 - 6:01The soundscape describes
the different contributors -
6:01 - 6:03to this noise field.
-
6:03 - 6:05What we are hearing on our hydrophones
-
6:05 - 6:09are the very real sounds
of climate change. -
6:09 - 6:12We are hearing these changes
from three fronts: -
6:13 - 6:18from the air, from the water,
and from land. -
6:18 - 6:21First: air.
-
6:21 - 6:23Wind on water creates waves.
-
6:23 - 6:27These waves make bubbles,
the bubbles break. -
6:27 - 6:29When they do, they make noise,
-
6:29 - 6:34and this noise is like a hiss
or a static in the background. -
6:34 - 6:37In the Arctic, when it's ice-covered,
-
6:37 - 6:41most of the noise from wind
doesn't make it into the water column -
6:41 - 6:46because the ice acts as a buffer
between the atmosphere and the water. -
6:46 - 6:51This is one of the reasons that the Arctic
can have very low ambient noise levels. -
6:51 - 6:54But with decreases in seasonal sea ice,
-
6:54 - 6:59not only is the Arctic now open
to this wave noise -
6:59 - 7:02but the number of storms
and the intensity of storms -
7:02 - 7:04in the Arctic have been increasing.
-
7:04 - 7:10All of this is raising noise levels
in a previously quiet ocean. -
7:10 - 7:13Second: water.
-
7:14 - 7:19With less seasonal sea ice,
sub-Arctic species are moving north -
7:19 - 7:23and taking advantage of new habitat
that is created by more open water. -
7:24 - 7:28Arctic whales, like this bowhead,
have no dorsal fin. -
7:28 - 7:33because they have evolved
to live and swim in ice-covered waters. -
7:33 - 7:35Having something sticking off of your back
-
7:35 - 7:38is not very conducive
to migrating through ice, -
7:38 - 7:43and may, in fact, be excluding
animals from the ice. -
7:43 - 7:47But now, everywhere we've listened,
we're hearing the sounds -
7:47 - 7:50of fin whales, humpback whales,
and killer whales, -
7:50 - 7:52further and further north
-
7:52 - 7:55and later and later in the season.
-
7:55 - 8:01We are hearing, in essence, an invasion
of the Arctic by sub-Arctic species, -
8:01 - 8:03and we don't know what this means.
-
8:03 - 8:08Will there be competition for food
between Arctic and sub-Arctic animals? -
8:08 - 8:14Might these sub-Arctic species introduce
diseases or parasites into the Arctic? -
8:14 - 8:17What are the new sounds
that they are producing -
8:17 - 8:20doing to the soundscape underwater?
-
8:20 - 8:22Third: land.
-
8:22 - 8:25By land, I mean people.
-
8:25 - 8:29More open water means
increased human use of the Arctic. -
8:30 - 8:31Just this past summer,
-
8:31 - 8:35a massive cruise ship made its way
through The Northwest Passage, -
8:35 - 8:39the once mythical route
between Europe and the Pacific. -
8:40 - 8:46Decreases in sea ice have allowed humans
to occupy the Arctic more often. -
8:46 - 8:50It has allowed increases
in oil and gas exploration and extraction, -
8:50 - 8:53the potential for commercial shipping,
-
8:53 - 8:55as well as increased tourism.
-
8:56 - 9:01We now know that ship noise increases
levels of stress hormones in whales -
9:01 - 9:03and can disrupt feeding behavior.
-
9:04 - 9:05Air guns, which produce
-
9:05 - 9:11loud, low-frequency 'whoomps'
every 10 - 20 seconds, -
9:11 - 9:15change the swimming
and vocal behavior of whales. -
9:15 - 9:20All of these sound sources
are decreasing the acoustic space -
9:20 - 9:24over which Arctic marine mammals
can communicate. -
9:24 - 9:29Arctic marine mammals
are used to very high levels of noise -
9:29 - 9:31at certain times of the year,
-
9:31 - 9:35but this is primarily
from other animals or from sea ice. -
9:35 - 9:37These are the sounds
with which they've evolved, -
9:37 - 9:41and these are sounds
that are vital to their very survival. -
9:41 - 9:44These new sounds are loud,
and they are alien. -
9:45 - 9:49They might impact the environment
in ways that we think we understand, -
9:50 - 9:52but also in ways that we don't.
-
9:53 - 9:57Remember, sound is the most
important sense for these animals; -
9:57 - 10:02and not only is the physical habitat
of the Arctic changing rapidly -
10:02 - 10:05but the acoustic habitat is, too.
-
10:05 - 10:08It's as if we plucked these animals up
from the quiet countryside -
10:08 - 10:12and dropped them into a big city
in the middle of rush hour. -
10:12 - 10:14They can't escape it.
-
10:14 - 10:16So what can we do now?
-
10:17 - 10:20We can't decrease wind speeds
-
10:20 - 10:23or keep sub-Arctic animals
from migrating north, -
10:23 - 10:29but we can work on local solutions
to reducing human-caused underwater noise. -
10:29 - 10:32One of these solutions
is to slow down ships -
10:32 - 10:34that traverse the Arctic,
-
10:34 - 10:38because a slower ship is a quieter ship.
-
10:38 - 10:42We can restrict access
in seasons and regions -
10:42 - 10:47that are important for mating,
or feeding, or migrating. -
10:47 - 10:50We can get smarter about quieting ships
-
10:50 - 10:54and find better ways
to explore the ocean bottom. -
10:54 - 10:59The good news is there are people
working on this right now. -
10:59 - 11:03But ultimately, we humans
have to do the hard work -
11:03 - 11:06of reversing, or at the very least,
-
11:06 - 11:10decelerating human-caused
atmospheric changes. -
11:10 - 11:15So let's return to this idea
of a silent world underwater. -
11:15 - 11:17It's entirely possible
-
11:17 - 11:20that many of the whales
swimming in the Arctic today, -
11:20 - 11:24especially long-lived species
like the bowhead whale -
11:24 - 11:28- that the Inuit say
can live two human lives - -
11:28 - 11:31it's possible that these whales
were alive in 1956 -
11:31 - 11:34when Jacques Cousteau made his film.
-
11:34 - 11:41In retrospect, considering all the noise
we are creating in the oceans today, -
11:41 - 11:44perhaps it really was "The silent world."
-
11:45 - 11:46Thank you.
-
11:46 - 11:48(Applause)
- Title:
- How climate change is altering the underwater soundscape | Kate Stafford | TEDxCERN
- Description:
-
This talk was given at a TEDx event using the TED conference format but independently organized by a local community. Learn more at http://ted.com/tedx
The underwater isn't silent, it's as noisy as any jungle or rainforest, but climate change is dramatically changing the soundscape so the impact on the planet could be cataclysmic.
Oceanographer Kate Stafford takes us on an auditory and visual journey, from the depths of the ocean and up to the surface with a clear message: to develop local solutions to reduce human-caused underwater noise.
- Video Language:
- English
- Team:
- closed TED
- Project:
- TEDxTalks
- Duration:
- 11:51
Riaki Ponist
5:07 - 5:10
Not only is the extent of ice changing
but the age and the width of ice is too.
To me, it seems "extent of ice" and "width of ice" refer to the same thing. Is there a possibility that the speaker was misspoken and meant to say:
Not only is the extent of ice changing
but the age and the [thickness] of ice is too.
Riaki Ponist
5:07 - 5:10
Not only is the extent of ice changing
but the age and the width of ice is too.
To me, it seems "extent of ice" and "width of ice" refer to the same thing. Is there a possibility that the speaker was misspoken and meant to say:
Not only is the extent of ice changing
but the age and the [thickness] of ice is too.
Ellen
Noted Riaki's comment above. I do not feel comfortable second-guessing this speaker/believe he misspoke so not made any changes.
I have contacted him about something else and had no response so am not contacting him about this.