•Notícia

The LAB is attached to the Vilanova i la Geltrú School of Engineering (EPSEVG). It is the first scientific centre for ocean noise control in the world and is internationally recognised for its work on the impact of noise pollution on animals. The acoustic tunnel, with a capacity of over 150,000 litres, simulates oceanic conditions to allow researchers to recreate what happens in the marine environment at laboratory scale, without having to move to the study areas to test the instruments.

The tank represents a key breakthrough for the research projects in the laboratory, led by Michel André, because it allows the technical equipment to be tested and calibrated precisely before it is taken to the study areas. One of these projects is being carried out in the Amazon and focuses on the conservation of pink river dolphins, which are currently threatened by human activities. "Smart" acoustic sensors submerged in the river and in the jungle are used to monitor the movements of marine mammals, understand their distribution and warn of threats that may affect their populations. The project consists in establishing a network of acoustic stations to record and analyse acoustic data in real time and transmit them to the LAB's servers in Vilanova. Since July 2015 this network has had four acoustic stations, and in the future it will have dozens.

The study of the apple snail, an invertebrate species of amphibian that has proliferated in the Ebro Delta and is harmful to rice fields in the area, is one of the projects in which the acoustic tunnel is used. In previous studies, the LAB has shown that human activity in the sea causes serious hearing damage to cephalopods because they use sound to track food and reproduce. The LAB has shown that the apple snail’s sensitivity to sound exposure is similar to that of cephalopods, which are also invertebrates and use the same type of sense organs for balance and position.

The LAB can use this information to help eliminate the pest invading the Delta by exposing it to sound levels that prevent it from living in the area. The acoustic tunnel can be used to determine the combination of settings such as the exposure time, frequency and amplitude of the sound that will eliminate the pest without damaging the rest of the ecosystem. This project may also be an international breakthrough, because the apple snail, which was imported to Asia as a food, is a pest in Taiwan and Japan, and its consumption has even been shown to be a possible cause of disease.


Another of the LAB's key projects is to limit the negative effects on marine animals resulting from the construction of wind farms in Japan. As a result of the nuclear accident in Fukushima, the Japanese government is currently committed to renewable energy, particularly offshore wind farms, as an alternative to nuclear energy. However, the high-intensity acoustic loads created in the construction of the turbines affect marine life. The LAB detects and identifies the presence of animals sensitive to noise impacts in real time. With this technology and the implementation of risk management models, the LAB helps to mitigate the adverse effects on marine animals. Another of the LAB's research lines with the new scientific facility is the study of how to combat parasites affecting salmon in Norway.

The new infrastructure, with dimensions of 9 x 4 x 4 m, is mounted on supports to isolate vibrations from the environment, and its walls are absorbent to limit acoustic reflection (as in anechoic chambers). The design and features allow the tunnel to simulate the natural environment of the sea in any condition and therefore calibrate acoustic sensors according to the characteristics of each area of study. These sensors are used to record natural, biological and artificial sound sources.

The tank is prepared to contain saltwater and is designed to study the limits of tolerance to artificial noise in marine fauna. The facility was financed with FEDER funds from the Spanish Ministry of Economy and Competitiveness and the LAB's own funds.