Arctic Climate change Indigenous partnerships Whales and seals
Infographic: Tackling noise pollution in the Arctic
Halliday, W. & Insley, S.
This graphic outlines the challenges facing marine wildlife as a result of increasing underwater noise in the Arctic.
Key points
- Climate change is causing sea ice to decline in trans-Arctic shipping routes, which has led to increasing ship traffic and increasing underwater noise pollution.
- Ships have far-reaching impacts - the noise they produce can exceed ambient sound levels from over 100 km away.
- None of the six countries with Arctic coastlines have policies on underwater noise that are specific to the Arctic environment.
- In the Inuvialuit Settlement Region of the eastern Beaufort Sea, shipping corridors currently overlap with marine protected areas and other important habitats whales use frequently.
- Based on the latest collaborative research, recommendations include:
- Move the shipping corridor further north, away from the marine protected areas and other known sensitive areas where whales aggregate
- Slow ships down to reduce their noise levels
Recommended citation
Halliday, W. & Insley, S. (2023). Infographic: Tackling noise pollution in the Arctic. Wildlife Conservation Society Canada [WCS Canada]. https://wcscanada.org/resources/infographic-tackling-noise-pollution-in-the-arctic/
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Metadata
- Title
- Infographic: Tackling noise pollution in the Arctic
- URL
- https://wcscanada.org/resources/infographic-tackling-noise-pollution-in-the-arctic/
- Published
- 2023-01-09
- Author(s)
- Halliday, W. & Insley, S.
- Publisher
- Wildlife Conservation Society Canada [WCS Canada]
Western Arctic
WCS Canada's Western Arctic Program is focused on the Arctic marine environment, which is facing major changes like sea ice loss, increased ship traffic, and development pressures.
Whales and seals
A warmer, noisier Arctic is creating new challenges for marine mammals
Arctic
Climate change is happening two to four times faster in the Arctic than the rest of the world.
