The Silence of Global Oceans: Measuring the Acoustics Impact of the Covid-19 Lockdown

Abstract

Low-frequency sound from maritime shipping is a major source of ambient underwater noise in oceans and a threat to marine life. Annual increases in global trade, 80% of which occurs through ocean tankers and container ships, means that underwater anthropogenic noise levels are increasing. As seasonal ice disappears because of climate change and new shipping routes open in the Arctic, ambient sound levels are bound to increase.