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New generation marine propulsion and noise pollution in the oceans

How can we fight against ocean noise pollution and its devastating effects? See detailled presentation

New generation marine propulsion and noise pollution in the oceans

How can we fight against ocean noise pollution and its devastating effects? See detailled presentation

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Introduction

As world economic trade intensifies, transport by sea has many negative impacts on the environment. Although it is considered less polluting than air transport, it is nevertheless responsible for significant noise pollution, which has a huge impact on underwater fauna. The stranding of whales and dolphins on the coast is just one example; it is therefore imperative to rethink the way our boats operate and the technicalities behind their functioning.

The program

Develop your projects, create your business...

The GENEVA FORUM invites you to propose your solutions in this field.

The myth that silence reigns under the seas still has a bright future ahead of it. In fact, the underwater soundscape abounds with songs, waves and other types of sounds that allow its fauna to find their bearings, to retrieve information about their environment, to hunt, to spot predators, and generally to move daily in the depths of the ocean.

The development of maritime transport has disturbed this sound balance and profoundly changes the way animals function:

  • Whales and dolphins are forced to change their hunting and communication methods and are sometimes so disoriented that they end up stranded on the coast ;
  • Fish, crustaceans and plankton are also affected, which can have dramatic consequences on marine biodiversity since they are at the base of the food chain.

These invasive sounds are mainly caused by the cavitation of boats, i.e. the bursting of air bubbles around their propellers. The noise can be amplified by poor maintenance of the propellers or the boat hull, by a propeller that is not optimised for the size and speed of the boat, by an irregular flow of water in the propeller, etc.

To this day, not many solutions have been proposed to reduce the sound volume of ships in the oceans :

  • For existing ships, optimising propellers would reduce energy losses and cut both financial expenditure and noise pollution, without having to slow down;
  • For the conceptualisation of new ships, magnetohydrodynamic propulsion has been elaborated, but it remains a process that has not been tried and tested and whose limits and dangers we do not master;
  • Foil technology is also a widely validated process, but its application to maritime freight must be designed;
  • Technologies already exist to increase the speed of boats while reducing noise pollution;
  • Development of other innovative prototypes...

Thus, although the problem of ocean noise pollution has been identified, the solutions to overcome it are far from being achieved today. There is still a great deal of room for innovation and the implementation of revolutionary initiatives in the field.

Suggest a solution !

If you wish, you can present, alone or with others, your proposals to the UN and you will be accompanied in the creation and development of activities based on these proposals.

Come with your ideas, prepare yourself, and participate actively in the workshops of the GENEVA FORUM. Meet your future teammates and get ready to actively change the world!

If you wish to propose a solution to the World in this field :

1) Search and select the International Conference at the UN on which you want to present your idea or solution by consulting this list of GENEVA FORUM Conferences (click here)














2) Fill in the form to submit the abstract (a summary) of your presentation (click here), stating "Yes" in the box "Is your presentation, a proposal for a disruptive technology ?"














3) Come at the next GENEVA FORUM, and give a short presentation of 5 minutes (pitch) and then participate in the one hour workshop following your presentation, with GENEVA FORUM participants who will want to move forward with you.












On site, our team of one-on-one meetings will welcome you in a specific way as a carrier of alternative solutions, and will be in charge in particular of :

  • connect you with the existing Participatory Research Programmes in which your proposal can be the subject of a project
  • and/or accompany you in the creation of a new Participatory Research Programme if your proposal should be the subject of a fully-fledged Programme
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