Environmental Sound Ecology: Restoring Acoustic Harmony in Ecosystems
Environmental sound ecology is an interdisciplinary field that studies the relationship between sounds, sound sources, and the environment they exist within. From an environmental perspective, this involves a holistic consideration of ecosystems, and how the various organisms within that ecosystem, including humans, impact and interact with each other through sound.
Bioacoustics, the set of natural interactions between species and their sonic environments, is fundamental to healthy ecosystems. Yet anthropogenic noise from roads, aircraft, and other forms of transit disrupts these subtle cues, interfering with communication, foraging, and reproduction.
Bioacoustic Spectrogram of a bat call
Soundscape Design for Ecological Restoration
In the context of Floyd Bennett Field, a landscape-based approach to soundscape design moves beyond mitigation, seeking to amplify and protect ecological sound cues such as songs, calls, rustlings, and tonal patterns that sustain interspecies interaction. This project centers on Floyd Bennett Field, a 1,300-acre former airfield in Jamaica Bay, New York.
Inspired by contemporary composers, the study explores links between harmonic balance in minimalist music and the layered rhythms of bioacoustics systems. Through spatial interventions such as vegetative buffers, topographic modulation, and zoning, the project works to restore acoustic harmony and reinforce supportive sonic conditions through contextualizing the existing dissonance.
An example of soundscape design
Sculpted berms shaped by the airfield's recycled remains create pockets of acoustic refuge, sheltering pollinators and insects from the steady drone of transit noise. Species are distributed according to their tolerance for acoustic disturbance, with more sensitive organisms placed in low-exposure zones and more adaptable species situated closer to areas with higher ambient noise.
Biosphere Soundscapes: An International Project
Biosphere Soundscapes, an international, interdisciplinary project directed by Australian acoustic ecologist Dr. Leah Barclay, operates to engage communities within UNESCO Biosphere Reserves through acoustic-ecological concepts, monitoring, and techniques.
In November 2016, I undertook the process of creating a short documentary film entitled Beyond What is Heard, which aimed to explore how the various programs and techniques utilized as a part of Biosphere Soundscapes have promoted sustainability in the Noosa Biosphere Reserve. To create the film, I conducted eleven interviews with a variety of artists, scientists, activists, community members and officials involved with Biosphere Soundscapes and the Noosa Biosphere and attended four events related to Australian acoustic ecology and the management of the Noosa Biosphere Reserve. The material from these interviews and events, traditional research methods, and my own personal experiences formed the basis for the documentary film, which portrays the importance of promoting listening as a method to connect with our environment, develop empathy and holistic mindsets, and thus work to make our own actions and communities more sustainable.
Dr. Leah Barclay, Director of Biosphere Soundscapes
Due to unforeseen technical and conceptual challenges and the complex political context within the Noosa Biosphere, I was unable to draw tangible conclusions about the impact of Biosphere Soundscapes on the Noosa Biosphere.