Andrea Lynn, a 2024 graduate of New England’s PhD in Environmental Studies, has written and published her dissertation titled Navigating the Noise: Implications of Increasing Ship Noise for an Arctic Ocean Soundscape.
Noise pollution caused by ships is increasing in the Arctic Ocean. The habitats of Arctic marine mammals (AMMs) are contracting as their environment fills with unfamiliar anthropogenic noise. Lynn’s dissertation examines the sources and balance of sounds in the Arctic Ocean soundscape surrounding the Norwegian archipelago of Svalbard.
AMMs spend much of their lives in deep darkness and have evolved to depend on sound as their principal sense. This study addresses a gap in knowledge that has limited our understanding of how much underwater noise AMMs are exposed to and its effects, especially in consideration of their unique hearing and communication capabilities. This study also considers human perceptions of underwater ocean noise and its impacts on the region, reviews current ocean policy, and suggests mitigation strategies.
Collecting and interpreting data that explains the changing composition of the soundscape may offer insights to guide regulation of anthropogenic noise in the ocean’s underwater soundscape, contributing to management and conservation efforts.
A transdisciplinary scholar with the training and temperament of a journalist, Lynn explores the narwhal’s acoustic habitat, the music in melting Arctic ice, vocalizations of endemic Arctic marine mammals, and the songs of humpback whales to further positive climate policy. Researching Arctic Ocean underwater soundscapes, she investigates the impacts of anthropogenic noise in the ocean, especially the effects of underwater radiated noise (URN) from ships. Lynn’s research in the High Arctic, including at the North Pole, may help explain the changing composition of underwater Arctic Ocean soundscapes. Hear the soundscapes and voices Andrea has studied and learn more about underwater radiated noise (URN) and its impacts here.
Learn more about Lynn and read her dissertation, Navigating the Noise: Implications of Increasing Ship Noise for an Arctic Ocean Soundscape, here.
