Science AMA Series: Hi, we’re NOAA scientists Leila Hatch, Jason Gedamke, and Jenni Stanley. We’re here to talk about ocean noise and what NOAA is doing to reduce this threat in our national marine sanctuaries and beyond. Ask us anything!

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Hi, Reddit! I’m Leila Hatch, marine ecologist with NOAA’s Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary, I’m Jason Gedamke, manager of the Ocean Acoustics Program within the NOAA Fisheries Office of Science & Technology, and I’m Jenni Stanley, postdoctoral researcher from NOAA’s Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary and Northeast Fisheries Science Center. We’re here to answer your questions on ocean noise.

Sound is an important part of marine ecosystems. Sound provides crucial information to many marine organisms, like the location and quality of potential habitat, the presence of predators or prey species, and the whereabouts of mates and offspring. Because sound can carry up to thousands of kilometers with little disruption, sound is one of the most reliable cues in the ocean -- whereas visual and olfactory cues, on the other hand, are easily muddled by light and turbidity.

But over the last century, increasing human activity within the ocean has resulted in increasing levels of noise, and this increasing amount of noise from anthropogenic sources is a rising concern. Scientific research suggests that anthropogenic noise can reduce opportunities for animals to hear sounds used for navigation, finding food and mates, and to avoid predators. Increased background noise can impact communication, can alter behavior, and can cause physical injury.

At NOAA, we’re working to understand [http://ift.tt/1UvGXd7] long-term changes in noise level (both anthropogenic and natural noise). We’re here to discuss what we know about ocean noise and what NOAA is doing to address this threat in national marine sanctuaries and beyond.

We’re here from 1:00 to 3:00 p.m. ET today to answer your questions on ocean noise. Ask us anything!

">Science AMA Series: Hi, we’re NOAA scientists Leila Hatch, Jason Gedamke, and Jenni Stanley. We’re here to talk about ocean noise and what NOAA is doing to reduce this threat in our national marine sanctuaries and beyond. Ask us anything!