Project description
Reducing ship-generated noise for a quieter ocean
While shipping is often considered an environmentally friendly transportation mode, its underwater radiated noise (URN) remains an overlooked form of marine pollution. URN disrupts the health, communication and behaviour of marine species, posing a growing challenge for biodiversity conservation. Although the EU has introduced new regulations to protect marine habitats, there is still a need for effective, large-scale solutions and better scientific understanding. The EU-funded LOWNOISER project addresses this by demonstrating advanced noise-reduction technologies and predictive tools that are environmentally friendly, safe and economically viable. By assessing the biological impact of URN and providing robust data, the project aims to help shape new regulatory standards, ensuring that shipping minimises its long-term ecological impact on marine ecosystems.
Objective
Underwater radiated noise (URN) by ships is one of main anthropogenic sources of noise in the marine environment. Transport by ship has been hailed as a green mean of transportation, at the same time, trapped under the water surface, the noise has been overlooked when considering the impact and the effects of human activities on marine species. On 11 March 24, a notice from the EC has been issued on the threshold values for the Marine Strategy Framework Directive 2008/56/EC. For continuous URN, the threshold for the habitat size of target species exceeding the Level of onset of Biologically adverse Effects (LOBE) has been set to 20%. While this notice does not set a specific limit for ship noise levels, it requires member states to evaluate the state of conservation of waters and take actions as needed.
Many projects have brought to light that the marine environment is influenced by marine traffic to a level and in ways that were not obvious to predict. E.g. AQUO project has drawn attention to the effects on different marine species. SONIC looked into the noise generated by cavitating propeller. Both projects led to the development of a series of criteria to quantify the harmfulness of URN and measures to reduce it, though without demonstrating the measures in full scale. These projects were followed by PIAQUO and SATURN that have moved the focus towards regulating the noise emission of ships and implementing solutions for its reduction.
The LOWNOISER project aims to bring the effort towards quieter ocean closer to reality than previous projects by showing the effectiveness of noise reduction solutions, i.e. technologies, measures and management strategies, that have a high TRL with full/large scale demonstrators. Also, the project is developing better tools for predicting URN, showing that noise reduction solutions are environmentally friendly in the sense of GHG emissions while being economically viable and safe.
Keywords
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Project’s keywords as indicated by the project coordinator. Not to be confused with the EuroSciVoc taxonomy (Fields of science)
Programme(s)
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
Multi-annual funding programmes that define the EU’s priorities for research and innovation.
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HORIZON.2.5 - Climate, Energy and Mobility
MAIN PROGRAMME
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HORIZON.2.5.7 - Clean, Safe and Accessible Transport and Mobility
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HORIZON.2.5.6 - Industrial Competitiveness in Transport
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Topic(s)
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Calls for proposals are divided into topics. A topic defines a specific subject or area for which applicants can submit proposals. The description of a topic comprises its specific scope and the expected impact of the funded project.
Funding Scheme
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
Funding scheme (or “Type of Action”) inside a programme with common features. It specifies: the scope of what is funded; the reimbursement rate; specific evaluation criteria to qualify for funding; and the use of simplified forms of costs like lump sums.
HORIZON-IA - HORIZON Innovation Actions
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Call for proposal
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
Procedure for inviting applicants to submit project proposals, with the aim of receiving EU funding.
(opens in new window) HORIZON-CL5-2024-D5-01
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Net EU financial contribution. The sum of money that the participant receives, deducted by the EU contribution to its linked third party. It considers the distribution of the EU financial contribution between direct beneficiaries of the project and other types of participants, like third-party participants.
5412 Stord
Norway
The total costs incurred by this organisation to participate in the project, including direct and indirect costs. This amount is a subset of the overall project budget.