The noise we’re creating in the sea can be deadly

The noise we’re creating in the sea can be deadly Getty Images Noise desensitises some ocean creatures to approaching boats Researchers are decoding a secret world of underwater chatter – and discovering the plight of animals harmed by our noise. There’s a world of sound and animal communication never observed with such clarity before The whales had become desensitised to the noise of approaching boats and were being struck by them, often fatally. Michel Andre Michel Andre has an elaborate listening apparatus for hearing ocean noise There’s a lot of distortion, so Andre and his team had to develop algorithms that could analyse the sounds in real-time and match them to a database of known ocean noises: everything from whale song to dolphin-speak. “It’s 24/7 – data coming from over 100 channels around the world.” Andre’s team aren’t just listening – they have also studied the physiological damage caused to animals by noise. Getty Images "We never thought that this could be something that could kill" - Michel Andre on the noise caused by shipping and other human noises As for tackling the root cause of the problem, the UN’s International Maritime Organisation has already published guidelines on how to quieten ships, but it will be a while before the impact of such changes might be observed in the wild.