A new system that harnesses the power of AI to accurately model how sound waves travel underwater could help reduce the impact of noise pollution on marine life.
Researchers from the University of Glasgow in the UK and the University of British Columbia in Canada are behind the development of the technology.
In the future, their system could empower industries including shipping and renewables to make better-informed decisions about the effect of their activities on the undersea world.
The loud sounds created by human technologies including the propellers of cargo ships and the construction and operation of offshore wind farms have been shown to have negative effects on a wide range of sea life. The noise can disrupt migration patterns of marine mammals like dolphins and whales and affect their ability to navigate by echolocation.
One potential answer to reducing the impact of underwater noise is developing a more complete understanding of the ways in which sound waves from human activities move and spread through the ocean.
That could help policymakers develop new regulations for shipping and offshore turbine construction to mitigate their impact on surrounding sea life.
Sound waves reflect off the surface of the ocean, the seabed, and everything in between in complex, ever-shifting patterns. As the sound waves move through the water, they also decrease in intensity – a process known as transmission loss.
Accurately modelling the physics of sound waves’ movements, interactions and transmission loss underwater is currently very difficult without using large amounts of computer processing power. Large-scale projects can take days of computing time to fully model the spread of sound waves through water.
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Posted On: 25/01/2024