• Home
  • About
    • Objectives and work packages
    • Team members
    • Our Partners
    • Collaborations
  • Get involved
    • Open positions
    • Our events
  • News
  • Publications and outputs
    • Project deliverables
    • Publications
  • Home
  • About
    • Objectives and work packages
    • Team members
    • Our Partners
    • Collaborations
  • Get involved
    • Open positions
    • Our events
  • News
  • Publications and outputs
    • Project deliverables
    • Publications
  • December 5, 2023

The noise of the ocean has changed: BIOcean5D coverage in Innovando News

The changing marine soundscape puts hundreds of species at risk: BIOcean5D’s Lucia Di Iorio featured in innovation magazine, Innovando
Credit: Kogia | Karim Iliya

From whales to small invertebrates, many ocean dwellers depend on the clarity of the marine soundscape to interact with and interpret their surroundings. 

But the sound of the Anthropocene ocean is very different from that of the pre-industrial age. The gradual disappearance of many ‘noisy’ marine animals has caused a dramatic drop in animal noise (or ‘biophony’), while human-induced noise has doubled each decade since the 1960s. These anthropogenic noises are now predominant, and have a heavy impact on sea life.

Marine soundscapes are at the centre of research conducted by BIOcean5D’s Lucia Di Iorio, Principal Investigator in Soundscape Oceanography & Ecoacoustics at the University of Perpignan. Through BIOcean5D and EMBL’s TREC expedition, Lucia is recording underwater sounds along the European coasts to better understand the impact of human-induced noise on marine biodiversity. 

“Shipping traffic compromises the communication of animals,” Lucia explained in an interview with Euronews. “It’s as if you lived next to a highway, or a busy road, with cars constantly passing by.” 

Lucia is investigating the influence of underwater sounds on phytoplankton. While it was previously only thought that noise pollution affects whales and dolphins, recent research has confirmed that many organisms, including jellyfish, crustaceans and coral reefs, all suffer from human-induced marine noise.

Read the article in Innovando News, here.

Recent posts

BBNJ: protecting biodiversity in the Wild West of the high seas

Recently published policy briefs provide recommendations to support the rapid and effective implementation of the BBNJ Treaty and activate unprecedented protection of our Ocean and its biodiversity.

European Ocean Days 2025

BIOcean5D was at the European Ocean Days event, held in Brussels from 3–7 March 2025, together with a diverse group of stakeholders to address urgent ocean and water challenges, discuss how to protect and preserve Europe’s marine ecosystems and help shape upcoming EU policies and initiatives.

BIOcean5D General Assembly 2025

The BIOcean5D team recently convened for our second General Assembly meeting at the Institut de Ciències del Mar (ICM-CSIC) in Barcelona, from 11 to 13 February 2025.

Interweaving science and public engagement for a sustainable future

The TREC – Tara Europa expedition provided a unique opportunity to communicate and engage with a wide audience about the importance of our ocean. Public outreach activities carried out at key locations along the expedition route helped improve understanding, increase awareness and ignite interest across a number of topics, from marine plankton to plastic pollution.

Share this story

Back to all news

PrevPreviousThe value of ocean literacy 
NextScience for a Green and Sustainable SocietyNext

Dive deeper

Back to all news

The noise of the ocean has changed: BIOcean5D coverage in Innovando News

This website is co-funded by the European Union (GA#101059915). Views and opinions expressed are however those of the author(s) only and do not necessarily reflect those of the European Union. Neither the European Union nor the granting authority can be held responsible for them.

This work is supported by the UK government Horizon Europe Guarantee, UKRI Grant Reference Number 10039266.

This work has received funding from the Swiss State Secretariat for Education, Research and Innovation (SERl) under contract #22.00255.

Join our newsletter

Keep up to date with our latest news and opportunities to get involved. 

We are grateful to our friends at Kogia for access to their beautiful photo and video gallery.

Contact us

Linkedin X-twitter

© 2024 | Privacy policy