Pikslo deep diving / underwater interception of the nordic sea
Pikslo_deep_diving / underwater interception of the nordic sea
Context & concept of the open lab / workshop / art - science research:
Keywords:
sonification, sound pollution, underwater sound, underwater sound pollution, anthropogenic
influence on the sea life, hydrophone, sonar, field recording, electromagnetic polution
(internet cables in water), acoustic ecology, seafaring, animals, fish, jellyfish, nordic sea, DIY
biologie, DIY chemistry, anthropocene
Collaborators team:
Robertina Šebjanič (SI), Kat Austen (UK/DE), Slavko Glamočanin (SI), Gjino Šutić
(CRO), Piksel team (main organiser)
Workshop / project:
During the 5 day work intense inter disciplinary research of four main mentors and
collaborators did open the process of the exploration of the context of DIY biologie, DIY
chemistry and sound. An DIY laboratory in the context of the Piksel festival was the main eirviroment for the workshop. We did spend time out on the field trips to
the fjords and surroundings in Bergen, to collect needed data.
Introduction to Research / To main topic of the research has been:
- underwater sound polution
- microplastic polution
Concept & context
When we look up to sky and look into the space and wonder about what is up there, we
sometime forget, that there is a lot still also to explore on the planet we live.
We know more about the space than we know about the world’s seas and oceans,
especially about the sound perception underwater.
People are not so aware of the vibrant underwater acoustic of sounds of the deepness of
ocean, except for the crash of a wave against a land. Whales, shrimp, seals, dolphins, and a
variety of other creatures of the deep live in a watery acoustical sonic environment. The
arrival of steamships and other humanmade interventions into the ocean soundscape has
contributed disturbing noise to this rich soundscape.
The workshop / project encourage an interrelationship between sound, nature, and
society, as a starting point for the rethinking of the possible developed of nicer sonic
environments for the animals living in the world's oceans and sea’s.
The underwater sound pollution is the reality of recent development and industrialization
reflecting on the sea.
Especially the upper level of the seas where there is most of the living in the seas and
independent by the level of the sonic pollution in the sea. We would also try to research the
deep sea level to understand what is happening there.
World seas and oceans are presenting more than 70% of surface of Earth.
97% of it 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 any ecosystem requires detailed study and observation. The ocean is the
complex, challenging, and harsh environment on Earth and accessing it requires specially
designed tools and technology. It has only been within the last 50 years that technology has
advanced to the point that we can examine the ocean in a systematic, scientific, and non
Pikslo_deep_diving // Context & concept of the workshop / research:
by Robertina Šebjanič (SI), Kat Austen (UK/D), Slavko Glamočanin(SI), Gjino Šutić (CRO)
invasive way. Our ability to observe the ocean environment and its resident creatures has
finally caught up with our imaginations and helping us to understand it also in the ways that
we did not imagine them before.
“Already back at the renaissance 1490 Leonardo da Vinci observed how the sound of ships
travelled long distances underwater. The sound of ships in the 15th century included the
noise of rudders and rigging, oars and the handling of cargo. Seafaring, while not in its
infancy, was a “life driven” technology; the power of wind and human muscle generated the
only anthropogenic noises in the sea. Over the next 400 years, acoustic technology at sea
involved innovations such as underwater bells and whistling buoys on submerged rocks and
reefs to warn navigators and captains away from marine hazards. With the advent of steam
powered engines, the quality and level of noise began to shift dramatically. With the ability to
navigate to, and develop the far reaches of the globe, the use of dynamite and diesel driven
pile drivers began transforming the soundscape of coastal waters worldwide. Once the
mechanization of seafaring and coastal civil engineering took hold, ocean noise began
increasing exponentially” * (from the Soundscape The Journal of Acoustic Ecology) and
it started to overtake also the sound scape environment of the animals.
useful links
Information about the seas in Norway in preparation for the workshop can be found