Capturing the symphony of the Cretan wilderness
Groundbreaking project captures nature’s voices to reveal environmental shifts in Samaria Gorge and beyond on southern Greek island
You find yourself in nature, surrounded by a forest, on a slope, by a stream. As you close your eyes and listen to the sounds around you, it takes several minutes to truly appreciate the richness of the environment. As your mind begins to calm, it starts to wander and explore, distinguishing the various sounds it hears. It’s a wonderful sensation – a deep connection with the surroundings and an abundance of auditory information. A similar experience, but on a much larger scale, has been unfolding over the past two to three years through a groundbreaking research project in Greece.
Several terabytes of audio recordings have already captured the sounds of the Cretan White Mountains (Lefka Ori) and Samaria Gorge. These recordings encompass a variety of “voices”: the chirping of birds, the buzzing of bees and other insects, the chorus of cicadas, bleating sheep, the rustling of the wind, the sounds of storms and rain, the whispers of plants, the crunch of footsteps, and even human voices and activities.
Christina Georgatou, an environmental engineer and PhD candidate at Hellenic Mediterranean University (HMU), has strategically placed several recording devices in selected locations throughout the White Mountains, including the Omalos Plateau, the Samaria Gorge, Agios Ioannis, and the Askifou Plateau.
“This unique area is home to protected Natura sites, making ecological monitoring very important. Over the past year, I have positioned the recording devices at fixed points to capture the annual cycle,” Georgatou explains to Kathimerini. The research has encountered several unprecedented challenges, such as determining the range of frequencies to record, deciding whether to capture sound continuously, managing battery life, and figuring out how to make adjustments since the devices are often placed in remote locations.
Capturing the memory of places
“I have collected over 15,000 hours of recordings, which I analyze using specialized software to identify specific sounds and patterns and to study the interactions between sound and the environment. By gathering extensive time series of recordings, we can capture changes over time: what happens to the presence of birds, insects, rain, and human activity.
“We listen to nature, documenting the sonic memory of these areas. This is especially significant for protected regions. Through sound, we can learn a great deal about the structure and evolution of the ecosystem,” Georgatou explains.
In the emerging interdisciplinary field of acoustic ecology, three types of voices are recognized: biophony, geophony and anthrophony. Biophony refers to the sounds of birds and animals, geophony encompasses the sounds of wind, rain, flowing water, and other natural elements, while anthrophony includes sounds generated by human activities and technology, such as cars, machines, and airplanes.
“The White Mountains and Samaria are remarkable places, boasting a vast diversity of ecosystems and soundscapes. The auditory experiences can be breathtaking, with significant variations both spatially – from one point to another – and temporally, influenced by the time of day and the season. In the morning, the symphony of birds begins, peaking in intensity during spring and autumn. I have identified Eurasian wrens, chaffinches, robins, hawks, lesser kestrels, and many other species. Specialized scientists can conduct more focused studies. Each location has its own distinct soundscape; in the Samaria Gorge, for instance, the wind is more pronounced, while in other areas you may hear the rustling of trees. The onset of a storm can be truly awe-inspiring. I was aware of the environmental value of this place, but now I have truly heard it and come to appreciate it on a deeper level,” the researcher emphasizes, highlighting the urgent need to protect the areas of the White Mountains and Samaria, “as they are indeed unique.”
Importance of recording
What is the unique value of sound recording? “The microphone captures everything – from all directions, panoramically as it were. It provides a continuous flow and universal capture, something we can’t achieve with cameras or direct observations. However, they are not mutually exclusive; sound recording qualitatively complements the data we collect. In fact, we can also capture frequencies from the inaudible spectrum,” notes Georgatou. “With sound recording, we can identify the presence of various species, highlight the importance of sound in nature, and understand that each location possesses a unique acoustic identity. Furthermore, sound recording can be particularly beneficial for individuals with visual impairments, allowing them to connect acoustically with places they cannot see.”
Analyzing acoustic data
The analysis of sound data presents a significant challenge, as physical observation and recording undergo mechanical and computational processing. This challenge has inspired Georgatou to seek ways to combine engineering with environmental protection.
“I will continue the recordings and work on scientific publications aimed at identifying the sound characteristics of each landscape and capturing its changes over time. Correlating changes in the soundscape with environmental evolution is particularly important. How does it change with rising temperatures? How will various species behave, and how often will natural phenomena occur?” she explains. The sound recording devices she has installed also include thermometers, which is crucial, especially in areas without meteorological stations.
Changing the pulse
“There are already publications in reputable scientific journals demonstrating that climate change is altering the pulse of the Earth. As temperatures rise and humidity levels in the atmosphere change, the richness of sound diminishes,” says Katerina Tzedaki, a professor in the Department of Music Technology and Acoustics at HMU and president of the Hellenic Society for Acoustic Ecology. Such studies are being conducted in countries like the United States, where continuous sound recordings have been made in critical locations and ecosystems for the past 40 to 50 years. This long-term data allows for the documentation of trends, including changes in bird populations and species behavior, alterations in communication among living organisms, and the manifestation of natural phenomena.
“The research on soundscapes in the White Mountains is the first of its kind in Greece, featuring long-distance recordings in an environment less affected by human presence and technology. It is not completely untouched; for instance, you might hear the sound of an airplane on a quiet night. All pristine areas have been impacted,” Tzedaki notes, emphasizing the significance of this particular research.
“When we take students out to listen to the environment, it often takes about 20 minutes for us to truly start hearing, to focus our attention, and to understand what we are experiencing,” she observes, highlighting how much urban noise pollution has burdened our ability to hear.
“Hearing is the invisible protagonist among the senses. Older generations had a better relationship with sound; they could discern much from what they heard. Even today, we can recognize the voice of someone we haven’t seen in 40 years,” the professor says.
Experts, who are currently preparing for the 7th Conference on Acoustic Ecology in Epidaurus in the Peloponnese from November 7-10, often hold a strong artistic perspective. It is no coincidence that the field of acoustic ecology began with a group of musicians in Vancouver, Canada, in the 1970s, with the late composer, musician and environmentalist Raymond Murray Schafer recognized as its pioneer.
“Often, I like to imagine that I am listening to a concert where all living beings and elements of nature are musicians in an orchestra,” Georgatou confesses.
“Within nature, there is a competition among sounds; each species wants to make its message heard, even if it may be overshadowed or drowned out by something else. Ultimately, everything finds a way to be heard. There is a fragile balance – sometimes competition, sometimes cooperation. Human activities and technology overwhelm this balance, covering everything. This raises important questions about the environment and ethics,” Tzedaki says. “For instance, can we imagine how a whale hears and reacts to intense sonar signals or to drilling activities?”
Sound recording in Greleska
Each sound recording captures the multitude of sound sources and their varying intensities. The morning biophony – the sound of birds and animals – primarily emanates from birds, while the seasonal character of the soundscape is evident in two distinct recordings. In winter, a storm is captured, while the sounds of summer winds are present in the warmer months. Notably, sheep are absent from the mountains during winter.