What’s that sound? A new student-designed exhibit being installed at Jennette’s Pier this summer will soon ask visitors the same question!
While Jennette’s Pier, an NC Aquariums site, is most well-known for its fishing, sea bird watching, and educational programs, it is also home to the Wave Energy Test Center. The center, co-managed by the NC Renewable Ocean Energy Program (NCROEP), is one of the open water test sites that are part of the Atlantic Marine Energy Center (AMEC), a US Department of Energy National Marine Renewable Energy Center.
As a result of the test site partnership, AMEC researchers are studying the sound ecology and underwater soundscape at Jennette’s Pier to better understand what noise is occurring below the water’s surface. This work is important because many organisms rely on sound for biological cues and communication. Should these sounds be masked, or covered by other louder noises, natural animal behaviors could be disrupted- a fact which must be carefully considered when deploying marine energy devices nearby and adding additional human-sourced, or anthropogenic, noises to the typical soundscape.
To learn what is happening below the surface, Amy Thompson, an AMEC Environmental Specialist based at the Coastal Studies Institute, regularly deploys a hydrophone at the pier to record underwater sounds. Upon return to the lab, she sifts through the recordings to identify the source of each noise. Thompson commonly observes sounds from marine mammals, soniferous fish (Atlantic croaker, oyster toadfish, and cusk eel), and snapping shrimp, as well as from nearby vessels and breaking waves. The cataloged recordings help establish baseline noise levels beneath the surface at Jennette’s Pier which is instrumental in assessing potential noise impacts from marine renewable energy device deployments at the wave energy test site.
To share this facet of AMEC research and its importance to the public, Anna Horton has diligently crafted a display for Jennette’s Pier over the last year. Horton is a rising senior at UNC-Chapel Hill and participated in the UNC Institute for the Environment’s 2025 Outer Banks Field Site (OBXFS) at CSI. As part of the fall program, Horton interned with AMEC and assisted Thompson with fieldwork. During her internship experience, Horton was surprised to learn about underwater noise pollution, which, in this case, is any excessive, loud sounds propagating through the water and negatively impacting marine wildlife.
“If that wasn’t something on my radar as someone studying environmental science, I wondered how many others also were unaware,” she recalls.
As a result of her new knowledge, she was inspired to create some educational content for Jennette’s Pier with assistance from her mentors there and at CSI.
Horton’s “Sounds Beneath the Surface” is a touch-screen display scheduled to be installed later this summer. The interactive exhibit draws people to it by stating, “We know what our lives sound like on the surface, but have you ever considered what it sounds like beneath the waves?”. The landing page of the display also introduces the concept of an underwater soundscape and allows visitors to select different sound producers to learn more about each source.
Ultimately, Horton hopes that as people learn about underwater soundscapes, they will also begin to consider the risks associated with noise pollution.
Photo, left or above: Before her internship concluded, Horton had the opportunity to share a preview of the “Sounds Beneath the Surface” interactive display with her OBXFS peers.
“While the exhibit, at this time, presents general information about the soundscape at Jennette’s Pier, in the future, I hope to continue similar work to bring additional awareness to the problems posed by anthropogenic noise pollution in this area and similar,” Horton shares.
In short, the Thompson’s soundscape research and Horton’s project are part of a larger effort to ensure that NCROEP, AMEC, and Jennette’s Pier are being responsible stewards of the marine resources while helping visitors understand the hidden sounds and ecological connections beneath the waves.
The preceding story first appeared in the Spring 2026 edition of CoastLines, published in June.
Based at the Coastal Studies Institute (CSI), the North Carolina Renewable Ocean Energy Program (NCROEP) advances inter-disciplinary marine energy solutions across UNC System partner colleges of engineering at NC State University, UNC Charlotte, and NC A&T University. Click on the links below for more information.
ECU's Integrated Coastal Programs (ECU ICP) is a leader in coastal and marine research, education, and engagement. ECU ICP includes the Coastal Studies Institute, ECU's Department of Coastal Studies, and ECU Diving and Water Safety.
The ECU Outer Banks campus is home to the Coastal Studies Institute.
