Sphyrna Odyssey Quiet Sea: a historic mission

As part of the Sphyrna Odyssey Quiet Sea mission, two marine drones powered by renewable energy listened to cetaceans in the Mediterranean during and after the lockdown associated with the coronavirus health crisis.

A historic opportunity to observe marine wildlife in near silence and to measure the impact of noise pollution. The coronavirus epidemic and the lockdown measures taken by various countries around the world had a radical effect in terms of reducing maritime and air traffic. To measure the impact of this low level of noise pollution on cetacean behaviour in the Mediterranean, the Sphyrna Odyssey scientific mission launched the “Quiet Sea” mission on 23 April 2020.

“In this quiet sea, the animals were able to communicate over longer distances, four times as far as they were able to communicate before the lockdown. We are seeing animals that are less stressed and that are reclaiming their rights.”

Hervé Glotin, Scientific Director of the Sphyrna Odyssey mission.

Quiet Sea complements the Sphyrna Odyssey 2019 mission, which took place from September 2019 to March 2020. This expedition, which was supported by the Prince Albert II of Monaco Foundation and Monaco Explorations, sought to observe and locate in 3D five lesser-known species (the Cuvier’s beaked whale, Risso’s dolphin, pilot whale, common bottlenose dolphin and fin whale, the second-largest whale on the planet) in a vast maritime area stretching from Genoa to the Balearics. A loop of 1,200 nautical miles which passed off the coast of Monaco.

The Sphyrna Odyssey thus allows acoustic recordings from before, during and after lockdown to be compared.