Anechoic
chamber
Sound-absorbing walls create an unusually quiet space, where even your own body becomes audible.
THE BUILT WORLDAN INTERACTIVE LISTENING EXPERIENCE
What does
the world sound
like now?
The ocean hums with ships. The sky carries engines. Even the quietest places are listening.
Explore the soundscape↓SCROLL TO LISTENAN ATLAS OF HUMAN SOUND / EST. 2026
THE LISTENING ATLAS / 01
A world in waves.
Our activity leaves an acoustic signature. Explore an illustrative view of where it gathers—and how it has grown.
GLOBAL SOUND ACTIVITY / ILLUSTRATIVE
DRAG THE TIMELINE TO EXPLORE
90° N
45° N
0°
45° S
90° S
45° N
0°
45° S
90° S
A louder world
Approximate patterns, not measurements
Approximate patterns, not measurements
ShippingAircraftIndustry
19502020
Map is a conceptual illustration, not a live noise map. Shipping, flight and industrial locations are approximate.
THE SOUND MIXER / 02
Listen to the
invisible.
Sound is energy in motion. Switch on a layer to hear an imagined version of the forces shaping our soundscape.
Synthesized audio, not field recordings. Start quietly and adjust your device volume to a comfortable level.
BUILD YOUR SOUNDSCAPESELECT LAYERS TO LISTEN
VOLUME30%
Layer levels respond to the timeline above. Whale and forest sounds are natural reference layers.
A SENSE OF SCALE / 03
Not all sound
is created equal.
Decibels are logarithmic: a small numerical change can represent a large change in acoustic energy. These familiar comparisons are approximate.
0 dB
Threshold of hearing
20 dB
Quiet forest
60 dB
Conversation
85 dB
Busy road
120 dB
Jet at takeoff
Airborne sound pressure levels vary by distance and conditions. Underwater dB uses a different reference pressure and cannot be directly compared.
PLACES TO PAUSE / 04
In search of quiet.
Silence is rarely absolute. These places offer different ways to experience the absence of human noise.
Anechoic
Hoh Rain
Forest
One Square Inch of Silence is a project advocating for the protection of natural quiet in Washington State.
WASHINGTON, USAAntarctic
interior
Far from cities and roads, wind and ice shape a remote and often remarkably quiet soundscape.
ANTARCTICAThe deep
ocean
Remote depths can be distant from human activity, though sound travels efficiently through water.
BELOW THE SURFACEBEHIND THE ATLAS
Listening is
a way of caring.
This is an artistic, educational interpretation—not a scientific noise model. Locations, levels, routes and changes are illustrative. The commonly cited historical rise in low-frequency ocean noise is roughly 3 dB per decade in parts of the 20th century; it varies by location, frequency and period.
All sounds are synthesized in your browser. For real recordings, explore the NPS Natural Sounds library, NOAA ocean sounds, and Cetacean Research Technology.
FURTHER READING NOAA / NPS / JENSEN / FRISK / ICAO / WHO / CETMAP