Menu Close

Articles on Noise pollution

Displaying 21 - 40 of 40 articles

Living alongside humans gets noisier all the time. Katrina Burgers/Shutterstock.com

Your drive to the shops makes life pretty noisy for whales

From the oil that makes your petrol, to car parts, to the groceries and other things in your weekly shop, retail consumerism is driving a boom in the amount of noise in the world’s oceans.
An F/A-18 Hornet breaking the sound barrier. Wikimedia Commons

Riverfire, sonic awe and the pornography of war

Fly-bys by RAAF Super Hornets and army helicopters are a noisy finale to the Brisbane Festival. While many find this sound awe-inspiring, what of those with lived experience of war?
A red fox listening for prey under the snow in Yellowstone National Park. Noise can affect foxes and other animals that rely on their hearing when they hunt. Neal Herbert/NPS

Human noise pollution is disrupting parks and wild places

A recent study finds that noise from human activities is intruding into many parks and other protected areas. Creating quiet zones and noise corridors can help reduce impacts from noise pollution.
Sonic weapons usually leave no physical marks but can be devastating psychologically. Vikash Kumar/flickr

Friday essay: the sound of fear

From Long Range Acoustic Devices used to disperse protesters to ear-splitting military drones to songs blasted on rotation to prisoners, ours is an age in which sound has been repositioned as a tool of terror.
Sperm whales, like many other species, use echolocation which can be hampered by noise. Gabriel Barathieu/Wikimedia Commons

It’s time to speak up about noise pollution in the oceans

We tend to think of the oceans as quiet, when in fact they’re anything but. Noise is the “forgotten pollutant”, but the good news is that unlike many other pollutants it can be switched off if we try.
The author began hearing the sound at night, between the hours of 10 and 11 p.m. 'Street' via www.shutterstock.com

Cracking the mystery of the ‘Worldwide Hum’

Shortly after Glen MacPherson started hearing strange humming noises, he created the World Hum and Database Project so people around the world could document their own experiences with the Hum.
Urban noise pushes birds to sing in high pitch and ship sound deafens whales and dolphins. John Haslam, Eric Bégin, IK's World Trip, Green Fire Productions, flickker photos, Jay Ebberly / Flickr

How noise pollution is changing animal behaviour

Noise pollution, whether on land or under water, can affect animals in interesting – and not always positive – ways.

Top contributors

More