Waves of Resonance: The psychological impact of marine sounds

Thursday 19 June 2025 13:00 – 14:00 (CET) 

The European Marine Board (EMB) are hosting their 49th Third Thursday Science Webinar featuring EMBracing the Ocean artist-in-residence Elise Guillaume who will present on her project “Waves of Resonance: The psychological impact of marine sounds”. Her project addresses the psychological impact of climate change and the therapeutic potential of ocean sounds. The project is in collaboration with Marine Severin (Flanders Marine Institute), a psychologist who researches the positive effects of coastal landscapes on mental well-being and with acoustic ecologist Clea Parcerisas (Flanders Marine Institute).

The project addresses the critical issue of underwater noise pollution by capturing an extensive range of above and below water sounds using various microphones. Additionally, Elise also used photography to document the coastal landscape and the scientific recording processes. As done in previous works of hers, she developed the photographs using seaweed; a low-toxicity alternative to conventional photographic practice. The research journey of the project finds expression in a printed publication, a research podcast, a video interview and a scientific paper.