Anthropogenic underwater noise — primarily from commercial shipping (low-frequency, continuous), seismic airgun surveys (impulsive, high-amplitude), and military sonar.
Effects
- Masks low-frequency vocalizations critical for mate-finding and group
cohesion in baleen whales like Blue whale (Balaenoptera musculus) and Humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae).
- Causes behavioral displacement from preferred habitat.
- Acute exposure (sonar, airguns) linked to mass strandings of
beaked whales.
Methodology connection
Directly relevant to Silence score — the project's name and its scoring concept stem from quantifying ocean "noise" / "silence" as a proxy for anthropogenic pressure.