Intrepid Explorers: Underwater Sound in Blue Planet II

A far cry from Jacques Cousteau’s Silent World, in reality the ocean is a remarkably noisy place, with whales, dolphins, fish and invertebrates all producing sound to communicate. These sounds range from the haunting song of the humpback whale song to the explosive clicks of snapping shrimp, and are important for social interactions, courtship, predator avoidance and locating and selecting habitat, especially at night. But since the Industrial Revolution we have been adding a whole raft of noises to the ocean, including shipping, motorboats, offshore construction, oil and gas prospecting and naval sonar.

In this talk Steve will explain how he has pioneered new ways of listening to the ocean and of interacting with fish (including underwater puppetry), to understand whole soundscapes and to unlock the language of fish. He will also discuss his engagement with key marine industries, aiming to reduce and manage human noise pollution in the quest for quieter seas. Steve’s research was featured in David Attenborough’s Great Barrier Reef series in 2015, and his work on underwater noise pollution recently screened in the final Episode of Blue Planet II last month.

Steve Simpson - Associate Professor in Marine Biology & Global Change

Steve is a marine biologist who combines tropical research and expeditions to remote locations with local fieldwork in Devon. Much of Steve’s work focuses on underwater acoustics, including the use of sound by fish and invertebrates, and impacts of human noise on marine life. Steve was a Series Academic Advisor for Blue Planet II, and his underwater puppetry featured in the final episode in a sequence on underwater noise.

Intrepid Explorers

Exeter Intrepid Explorer's talks are in partnership with University of Exeter Global Systems Institute and are held on the last Thursday of each month at 6.30pm at the the Workshop room, Exeter Phoenix. Free Entry.

For more details on this event, and for future events in the Intrepid Exploer series, please visit the website or facebook page.