On July 26, 2026, the UK's National Oceanography Centre (NOC) announced the launch of the project Revealing the Hidden Soundscapes of the Deep North Atlantic.
For the first time, researchers are embarking on a large-scale program to study the soundscape of the deep ocean. The project aims to create one of the most comprehensive acoustic maps of the North Atlantic and to understand what information about ocean life can be gleaned from sounds that have remained largely unexplored.
As part of expedition JC278, scientists will deploy seven autonomous hydrophones, which will continuously record everything that makes a sound in the depths of the North Atlantic for one year. Simultaneously, observations will be conducted at two unique scientific sites.
The first is the Porcupine Abyssal Plain Sustained Observatory (PAP-SO), located approximately 500 kilometers southwest of Ireland at a depth of about 4850 meters. This is one of the oldest deep-sea research stations in the world. Continuous ocean monitoring has been carried out here since 1985, allowing scientists to observe seasonal changes, carbon cycles, and the life of one of the planet's deepest ecosystems.
The second site is Whittard Canyon, one of the largest underwater canyons in the northeastern Atlantic. Unlike the calm abyssal plain of PAP-SO, powerful sediment flows constantly move here, creating a dynamic habitat for deep-sea corals, shrimp, and many other specialized organisms.
Together, these two sites will serve as a kind of ocean sound observatory.
The hydrophones will capture the calls of toothed whales and other marine mammals that use echolocation, the noise of shipping, underwater landslides and turbidity currents, as well as many other sounds that form the acoustic picture of deep ocean life.
But the significance of this project goes far beyond just another oceanographic expedition.
It reflects an important shift in modern science.
While researchers not long ago strove primarily to see the ocean depths, today they are beginning to listen to them.
