The pandemic turned the volume down on ocean noise pollution
Humpback whales, mother and calf, near Socorro, Revillagigedo Islands, Mexico. | Photo by Reinhard Dirscherl / ullstein bild via Getty Images
The economic fallout from COVID-19 has temporarily muted some of the noise coming from maritime traffic. That’s given scientists a rare opportunity to study what happens to marine life when humans quiet down.
Humans today pollute oceans with whirring ship propellers and booming air guns searching for oil and gas deposits. Seeing whales and other creatures’ behavior now that the pandemic has quieted things down is like a peek into what marine life was like before humans drastically turned up the volume over the past 200 years.
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