Researchers from the Institute of Intelligent Systems and Numerical Applications in Engineering of the University of Las Palmas de Gran Canaria (ULPGC) have completed an oceanographic campaign to study underwater noise and its impact on cetaceans using an autonomous underwater glider that has traveled the archipelago from east to west.
The device, which has collected acoustic and oceanographic data, was recovered on April 22 off the coast of Tazacorte (La Palma) after a 20-day mission within the framework of the CanBio Project, a program that monitors the effects of climate change in Macaronesia and evaluates its impact on the threatened biodiversity of the Canary Islands, financed in equal parts by Loro Parque Fundación and the Government of the Canary Islands.
In a statement, the CanBio Project explained this Tuesday that the underwater glider began its journey in waters near the islet of Alegranza, north of Lanzarote, and traveled 550 kilometers, submerging to a depth of 950 meters, while collecting information about the marine environment.
Thus, it collected bioacoustic data, chlorophyll A concentration, dissolved oxygen, salinity, pressure, and temperature.
The main objective of the mission was to continuously record the underwater soundscape, and the route included areas of the archipelago with very different maritime traffic densities.
This "will allow comparing noise levels between regions and evaluating its possible effect on the presence and distribution of cetaceans, such as dolphins and whales," and with this data, "they will be able to advance in the knowledge about the effects of anthropogenic noise on marine life, thus contributing to the protection of sensitive species and the development of more effective conservation policies in Atlantic waters."
