The underwater sounds of Britain’s coastline, from Land’s End to the Outer Hebrides, will be investigated through a collaboration between a team of experts and people on board Sail Britain’s expedition yacht Merlin, this summer.

The research, led by the University of Edinburgh, in collaboration with Sail Britain and Whale Wise will use affordable listening devices, called AudioMoths, to listen to the sounds, produced by a myriad of marine animals - which can reflect the health of an ecosystem.

Merlin’s interdisciplinary crew, captained by Oliver Beardon, will be joined by environmental, cultural and creative people to improve their ocean literacy, undertake citizen science, and explore our relationship with the sea.

Merlin is a fantastic platform for marine research as she carries scientific equipment and creates an educational space for all who come aboard, including artists. This year, the University of Edinburgh and Whale Wise - a small charity dedicated to marine mammal research - will make the most of this potential.

Coastal ecosystems are both identified and influenced by the different types and diversity of sound and an increasing human contribution to this ‘soundscape’, from boat traffic to oil and gas exploration, may limit an ecosystem’s ability to flourish or recover. For now, the aims of this exploratory project are simple. Can we use emerging acoustic technology to monitor underwater ecosystems, and what can this tell us about their health?

The research is being led by Dr Laurence De Clippele at the University of Edinburgh and PhD student Tom Grove. They said: “We will use AudioMoths to record underwater soundscapes, logging what animals we can hear, from whales to fish and crustaceans. By answering these questions, we hope to inform more long-term monitoring in the future.”

Merlin will set sail from Lymington on May 7th and make its way along the west coast of Britain, exploring the west of Scotland between July and September.