UTC
UTC +1
civil twilight
04:50
sunrise
05:27
UTC
Live stream: mobile_adrift.mp3 Recording: ADrift on the Thames - June 11th 2024 - Karina Townsend |
Drifting on the tidal Thames around the Rotherhithe peninsula Karina Townsend
Latitude: +51.50754782477889°
A temporary hydrophone livestream from beneath the tidal Thames in central London. Urban, riverine environment. A mix of industrial and natural subaquatic sound. With thanks to Grant Smith and Mort Drew for initial and continuing streambox build support. |
The subaquatic sounds of the tidal Thames starting from Princes Stairs in the Upper Pool and drifting down Limehouse Reach and onwards towards the Greenwich peninsula.
On a falling tide, the sounds of the river will be streamed from hydrophones and a mobile streambox drifting, with me, in my kayak. We will likely hear an ensemble of mechanical and industrial sound, the creaking of ropes and chains for example, with the possibilty of insect stridulation, gaseous events, and even mammalian and fish interjections. The early hour would suggest relatively less active marine traffic but, in reality, the river never sleeps. We may hear marine traffic on the move from their downstream, overnight moorings to upstream passenger embarkation points. This link will take you to a previous ADrift commissioned for Thames21 in the summer of 2024. https://vimeo.com/985685152 where you can hear a piece composed from several locations around the Greenwich peninsula. For the livestream, my streambox comprises a Pi Zero and IQ Audio card with a 4G transmitter powered via a rechargeable Anker Li-ion battery. The components live in a waterproof case which will sit on the deck of my kayak. Using an array of hydrophones I will dowse the sounds from beneath the waves as the city awakens. Links: The PLA charts of these reaches of the Thames https://assets.pla.co.uk/hydrographic-services/charts/320msc.pdf https://assets.pla.co.uk/hydrographic-services/charts/319msc.pdf https://assets.pla.co.uk/hydrographic-services/charts/318msc.pdf and the hydrophones I will be using https://www.terranovapress.com/books/aquabeat-hydrophone https://www.aquarianaudio.com/h2d-hydrophone.html |