Page 15 - Special Issue

bioacoustic Monitoring
Contributes to an Understanding of Climate Change
Both direct and indirect effects of climate change will impact acoustics, especially in the fields of acoustical oceanography, animal bioacoustics, noise, and underwater acoustics.
Email:
laluklroae_pkploeerp@pseari@ntbmroawryns.edu andrea_simmons@brown.edu
Postal:
1. Current Address: Department of Biology, Saint Mary's College, Notre Dame, Indiana 46556, USA
Laura N. Kloepper and Andrea M. Simmons
1
Introduction
From policymakers, to funding agencies, to the general public, there is a push to understand more about how anthropogenic activities are impacting our climate, how the changing climate affects our planet, and how we can mitigate these ef- fects. At first glance, acoustics and climate change may seem to have little in com- mon. The reality, however, is that both direct and indirect effects of climate change will impact acoustics, especially in the fields of acoustical oceanography, animal bioacoustics, noise, and underwater acoustics. How can we, as acousticians, iden- tify and understand the impacts in our field so we can contribute to the science and dialogue of climate change?
The earth is warming, and anthropogenic activities are to blame. The latest Inter- governmental Panel on Climate Change report states with 95% confidence that “more than half of the observed increase in global average surface temperature from 1951 to 2010 was caused by the anthropogenic increase in greenhouse gas concentrations and other anthropogenic forcings together” (IPCC, 2013). Al- though already warming, climate models predict further global warming of up to 4° C by the year 2100 (Figure1).
In addition to increases in global temperature, other effects of climate change in- clude losses of ice on sea and land, a rise in sea level, changes in the distribution of organisms within ecosystems, ocean acidification, changes in weather patterns, and increased threats of disease (IPCC, 2013; CCSP, 2008). These biotic and abi- otic effects of climate change may also influence the acoustics of an environment and alter the communication of animals. This, in turn, leads to variations in entire soundscapes of regions and to changes in biodiversity, as some species adapt while others do not. Here, we explain how these effects of climate change may impact bioacoustics and discuss some recent findings on the impact of climate change on underwater and aerially communicating animals.
effect on Underwater Communicating Animals
One of the better-known impacts of climate change on acoustics derives from in- creasing ocean acidification. The combustion of fossil fuels has driven atmospher- ic CO2 levels from a pre-industrial level of approximately 280 ppm to a present- day level of higher than 400 ppm worldwide (IPCC, 2013). However, only about half of the CO2 that has been produced still resides in the atmosphere. The rest is absorbed by the ocean, which results in ocean acidification.
Department of Co1g8n5itMiveeLtinguSitsrteicest &PBsyocxhGolLo-gNy Brown University Providence,BRoIx012892112 Providence, Rhode Island 02912 USA
8©2|02A0 cAocousticicalsSTocoiedtay yof |AmSuemricma.eAr l2l 0ri1g4hts reserved. Spring 2020, Special Issue | Acoustics Today | 15
https://acousticstoday.org/climate-change
Reprinted from volume 10, issue 3