Sixth Internatonal Conference on the Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life

This award provides partial support for the sixth International Conference on "The Effects of Noise on Aquatic Life" in Berlin, Germany, July 10-15, 2022. This meeting follows the very successful meetings on the same general topic held in Nyborg, Denmark (2007), Cork, Ireland (2010), Budapest, Hungary (2013), Dublin, Ireland (2016), and Den Haag, Netherlands in 2019 The major goal of this conference would be to define the current state of knowledge on the impact of underwater noise and explore the progress made in this field in the three years since the previous conference.

The extension of renewable energy and petroleum projects to offshore waters, the prospect of industrial development of previously pristine waters (e.g., polar regions), and recent proposals to open new areas for petroleum lease (e.g., US Atlantic coast) has resulted in greater interest in the effects of underwater noise on aquatic life on the part of regulators, industry, and scientists.

The meeting should help shape future research and understanding of effects of noise on aquatic life. Based on experience from the earlier meetings, the interactions and networking that took place has resulted in new collaborations between investigators, a broader understanding of the science that can be used in their work by regulators, a better understanding of regulatory issues by scientists and industry, and substantial cross-fertilization of experimental design and approaches by investigators.

This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.