Noise pollution in our oceans and seas

The increased levels of noise pollution in our oceans and seas are becoming a very serious environmental issue. Among the most affected marine animals are dolphins and whales because they heavily rely on sound for their daily activities such as hunting.

The effect of noise pollution on marine life isn't the same in all seas and oceans and varies based on the proximity of the animal to the activity and the intensity and frequency of the sound.

Ships and submarines are not the only sources of noise pollution in our oceans, offshore drilling together with other different offshore activities is also becoming a big threat to many marine ecosystems.

Several latest studies have showed that even the short-term exposure to noise pollution could have serious negative consequences, and even cause trauma for many marine animals, especially high intensity noise pollution.

Some scientists believe that noise pollution could have a negative impact on the entire marine food web chain. One of the latest studies by the Technical University of Catalonia in Barcelona showed that dolphins and whales are not only marine animals seriously affected with noise pollution as squids and octopuses are also experiencing massive acoustic trauma because of the increased noise pollution in our oceans.

Noise pollution issue is becoming a huge threat to marine life and it is up to science to discover just how widespread and invasive is noise pollution in the marine environment, and what can be done to reduce the levels of unwanted sounds in our oceans in order to protect marine environment.

When talking about pollution in general people usually refer to air and water pollution neglecting the global threat of noise pollution. They seem to forget or are not aware of the fact that noise pollution is disturbing marine life in our oceans and seas. Noise pollution issue needs more attention and more research because the life in oceans and seas is equally important as the life on land.