Since early April, Andreas von Bubnoff, Professor of Science Communication at the Faculty of Technology and Bionics, has been collecting audio recordings from around the world to document how the sound of the planet has changed during the Covid-19 pandemic.
In the Anthropocene, the Earth is characterised by constant human activity: cars, trains, aeroplanes, factories, jackhammers and many other sources of sound and noise together create a continuous ‘anthropophony’, as the sound ecologist Bernie Krause calls it. However, due to the coronavirus, public and economic life in a great many countries has been – and continues to be – brought to a standstill in order to prevent the uncontrolled spread of Covid-19.
This has already had surprising consequences: in India, many people saw their cities with clear air for the first time – and perhaps even the Himalayan mountains in the distance – whilst in Berlin and other cities, animals were spotted.
Most of us are now also familiar with the images of deserted cities all over the world. What is discussed far less, however, is that the soundscape of our neighbourhoods, of nature, indeed of the entire planet, also seems to be changing radically. For example, in many places it is becoming quieter. But what does this sudden silence mean for us? And what can we learn from this silence about the influence we have on the soundscape of this planet in normal times?
Andreas von Bubnoff, Professor of Science Communication at Rhine-Waal University of Applied Sciences, believes that the global shutdown of most human activities during the pandemic presents a unique opportunity to ask such questions and seek answers.
That is why, together with Veronica Semeco, he has launched the Pandemic Silence Project, which invites people all over the world to record sounds that have changed during the pandemic lockdowns compared to before. This does not necessarily always mean greater silence, says von Bubnoff, as some sounds – such as the morning song of birds – may actually be easier to hear, or simply sound different.
The end result is intended to be a curated collection of sounds, as well as multimedia publications, including in RiffReporter’s AnthropoScene project and the journalism project South East Asia Globe in Phnom Penh, with which von Bubnoff is collaborating. A collaboration with museums is also being considered.
The submissions are already fascinating, von Bubnoff said recently on Deutschlandfunk: there is a recording of a woman from India who says she thought certain birds had become extinct and has now heard them again; a recording from Brooklyn featuring a bird’s morning song accompanied by the sounds of a helicopter and ambulance sirens; or a recording from a student hall of residence featuring the clatter of crockery and laughter from a neighbouring room, which captures a woman washing up whilst in self-isolation, terrified of catching the virus, whilst her fellow students next door are carefree, inviting guests over.
The project has been running since the beginning of April, but the collection of recordings continues, according to Bubnoff: At least approximately one minute of audio of the ‘soundscape’ is required; a photograph of the location where the sound was recorded; the location, date and time of the recording; and finally, a brief comment on what can be heard and what is unusual about the sounds and the lockdown situation. More detailed instructions can be found here, and the upload form is here.
