{"id":3808,"date":"2026-03-03T00:41:00","date_gmt":"2026-03-02T22:41:00","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/?p=3808"},"modified":"2026-03-21T23:46:00","modified_gmt":"2026-03-21T21:46:00","slug":"a-louder-arctic-new-research-expands-understanding-of-underwater-noise","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/2026\/03\/03\/a-louder-arctic-new-research-expands-understanding-of-underwater-noise\/","title":{"rendered":"A Louder Arctic: New Research Expands Understanding of Underwater Noise"},"content":{"rendered":"\n

As reported by Phys.org<\/em> on February 24, new research published in npj Acoustics<\/em> has quantified the impacts of noise from human activity on the local environment in Iqaluktuuttiaq, Nunavut. Using 10 years of underwater observations from 2015 to 2024, the researchers found that a multitude of sources in the Arctic, including ships, snowmobiles, machinery, and aircraft, are sizable contributors to underwater noise. Additionally, the study showed that the effects of loud sounds varied between seasons, with ice cover during the winter isolating the water from many noises. (Phys.<\/a>o<\/a>rg<\/a>)<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\"Whale
Whale surfacing with cargo ship in the background. (IFAW, AdobeStock)<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n\n\n\n

The Arctic is getting louder. Increasing accessibility due to melting sea ice has led to more opportunities for human activities, like shipping and resource extraction, that emit incredible amounts of noise. Underwater noise can have serious adverse effects on marine animals, displacing them from their habitats, causing stress, and disrupting essential life functions, like hearing, communication, and navigation. Loud sounds can also frighten off potential prey, adding additional pressure. The Arctic is particularly vulnerable to underwater noise pollution because it generally has low levels of background-noise, meaning that sounds can travel further and the region\u2019s marine species are not used to living in a noisy environment. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

As a result, even small increases in noise levels can have profound impacts in the region. Yet, the growth of noise pollution in the Arctic has been anything but small, with increasing vessel traffic expected to quadruple underwater noise in the region by 2030. Thus, the new research in\u00a0npj Acoustics<\/em>\u00a0highlights the growing risk of underwater noise pollution on the Arctic\u2019s ecosystem. Although underwater sounds are typically associated with ships, offshore machinery, and other maritime activities, the study reveals that a range of sources on land and in the air are also contributors to ocean noise pollution in the Arctic. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Therefore, a comprehensive approach to noise is essential to more effectively protect the region\u2019s unique marine life. (International Fund for Animal Welfare<\/a>,\u00a0Protection of the Arctic Marine Environment<\/a>,\u00a0World Wildlife Fund<\/a>).<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Source – https:\/\/www.thearcticinstitute.org\/arctic-week-take-five-week-23-february-2026\/<\/a><\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Using 10 years of underwater observations from 2015 to 2024, the researchers found that a multitude of sources in the Arctic, including ships, snowmobiles, machinery, and aircraft, are sizable contributors to underwater noise.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":3809,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"rop_custom_images_group":[],"rop_custom_messages_group":[],"rop_publish_now":"yes","rop_publish_now_accounts":[],"rop_publish_now_history":[],"rop_publish_now_status":"pending","_themeisle_gutenberg_block_has_review":false,"footnotes":""},"categories":[7],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-3808","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-industry"],"aioseo_notices":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3808","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=3808"}],"version-history":[{"count":2,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3808\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":3811,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/3808\/revisions\/3811"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/3809"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=3808"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=3808"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/arcticwatch.info\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=3808"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}