Aquatocene / Subaquatic quest for serenity (en)

Robertina Sebjanic The audio compositions of Aquatocene / The
subaquatic quest for serenit encourage us to reflect upon the
anthropogenic sonic impact on the underwater habitat and marine
life, as well as illuminate awareness and underscore the importance
of maintaining safe sound environments for animals living in the
world’s oceans, seas, lakes and rivers.  Over the last few
years the artist had made a number of recordings using
hydrophones in different locations around the globe. Underwater
noise effects a great number of marine life forms which depend on
the sub-aquatic sonic environment to survive. Despite the
broad availability of popular aquatic sounds, we aren’t really
aware that the underwater soundscape is as rich as the one heard by
terrestrial creatures above water. Aside from lacking experience in
terms of the fascinating diversity of marine sound, we are also not
aware that sonic pollution caused by humans is already changing the
soundscape of the waters and even the communication of its
inhabitants. When we look up to the sky, look into space and wonder
about what is up there we sometimes forget that there is still a
lot left for us to explore on the planet we live on. We know more
about space than we know about the world’s seas and oceans,
especially when it comes to sound perception underwater.
Technological interventions into the ocean soundscape by ships,
sonars and sound cannons (used in oil exploration) can create huge
disturbances in fragile marine habitats and have been connected to
a number of effects ranging from the beaching of whales to the
»Lombard effect« where certain species themselves become louder to
overcome background noise, thereby gradually increasing the
intensity of the entire habitat. Water habitats cover over 70% of
the Earth’s surface. 97% of the world’s water is saltwater, 2% is
fresh water in the form of ice and only the remaining 1% is
drinking water, which is distributed around the planet very
unevenly. The exploration of an ecosystem requires detailed study
and observation. The ocean is the most complex, challenging, and
harsh environment on Earth and accessing it requires specially
designed tools and technology. The technological advances have
finally reached the point 50 years ago that enables us to examine
the ocean in a systematic, scientific, and non invasive way. Our
ability to observe the ocean’s environment and its resident
creatures has finally caught up with our imaginations and helped us
to understand it in ways we could not even envision them
before.