Stealthy robots with microphones could improve maps of ocean noise
slowly and stealthily via the Pacific Ocean, a robotic glider with a
microphone captured a cacophony of sounds from ships, whales and underwater
glider’s journey, throughout 458 kilometers off the Washington and Oregon coast and
right down to 650 meters, demonstrates that gliders may very well be efficient instruments to help map ocean noise levels, researchers report November 20 in PLOS ONE. Separate audio recordings from
close by microphones dangled from the water’s floor confirmed the accuracy of
the glider’s 18 days of recordings in July and August 2012.
Stationary microphones can’t catch the total array of sounds all through giant swathes of sea or at varied depths within the water column the way in which a glider can, although, the researchers say. Ocean noise is “one thing we have to measure and attempt to higher perceive why that’s taking place, the place it’s taking place, and what the impacts are” to wildlife and marine ecosystems, says oceanographer Joe Haxel, at Oregon State College’s coastal campus in Newport. For instance, earlier analysis has proven that Navy sonar (SN: 3/25/11) and passing ships can create noise pollution that harms marine animals (SN: 2/13/18), impacting social behaviors and foraging habits.
scientists eavesdrop underwater with hydrophones, waterproof microphones that
are moored or dangled from the floor, or mounted on giant ships that may drown
out different sounds and scare away marine life.
glider’s sluggish velocity —
simply over 1 kilometer per hour —
and quiet motion enable it to sneak via the water selecting up ambient
noises. A pump strikes oil out and in of the glider’s bladder, affecting its buoyancy
and inflicting it to drift up or sink down within the water column. These depth
modifications propelled the glider ahead on a sluggish, meandering path.
glider is sweet as a result of it’s noninvasive,” says Haxel. “It’s coming in on