Natural silence—the kind when you hear nothing but the sound of nature around you—is becoming increasingly scarce.The rumblings of man-made noise can be heard even in the remote corners of national parks and deep in the Arctic Ocean.
This is having a troubling effect.In humans,noise pollution has been linked to cardiovascular disease,mental health problems and cognitive impairment in children.In wildlife,it's disrupting navigation,mating rituals,communication and can cause hearing loss."We're losing the ability to listen to nature without noise pollution," says sound recordist Matt Mikkelsen.He's part of the non-profit organization Quiet Parks International,which aims to identify and preserve the planet's last quiet places.
Recently,this took him to Boundary Waters Canoe Area Wilderness in northeastern Minnesota.No cars,motor boats,electricity or telephone lines are allowed in the 1-million-acre area,making it a strong candidate for Quiet Park status.But listening back to the recording,Mikkelsen can hear the low hum of a commercial jet flying far away.
Quiet Parks hasn't yet decided if Boundary Waters meets its criteria—it's one of 260 potential sites around the world that the organization is currently exploring.The team will analyze the sound recordings from each location and consider them alongside other data.
In recent years,the world has been getting louder,with cities and towns expanding and an increasing number of beeping cars,whooshing airplanes and cargo ships with blasting horns.But during the COVID-19 pandemic,there has been momentary respite.In 2020,global air travel was down by 60% and road transport decreased by almost half.Scientists in Europe found that noise caused by humans fell by up to 50% after lockdowns were imposed.
"People relished the silence," says Mikkelsen."There were no airplanes in the sky and cars weren't on the street...It was a miraculous thing to be able to hear the world,all of a sudden,free from noise pollution,"he says.Since the start of the pandemic,Quiet Parks says it has experienced a huge surge in interest for quiet places."I hope that we can take that desire for a world with less noise forward," says Mikkelsen,"and appreciate the spots we have,where we can go and not experience noise pollution."
