geophony
n. Sounds produced by the non-biological elements of the natural world.
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Etymology
Examples
2011
To get an overview of a soundscape it's necessary to study the biophony (sounds that come from animals), geophony (geophysical signals that are the result of the movement of wind and water and earth) and anthrophony (sounds produced by human activity).
—David Hawkins, “'Soundscape ecology': the new science helping identify ecosystems at risk,” Ecologist, December 16, 2011
2011
In addition to studying changes in biophony (sounds created by living things) and anthrophony (sounds created by human activities), soundscape ecology will also focus on the often overlooked category of sounds created by non-living sources like weather, wind and water, known as geophony.
—Mary Caperton Morton, “Recording the Soundscapes of Spring,” U.S. News & World Report, March 11, 2011
2003 (earliest)
In most environments today, soundscape signatures are comprised of two natural components, biophony and geophony, and a probable human component that includes the third, anthrophony. Biophony is the combined sound that living organisms produce in a given habitat. Geophony is comprised of geophysical sounds in the environment, such as the effect of wind in trees or grasses, thunder, water flow, earth movement, etc. Anthrophony is usually comprised of human-generated mechanical sounds, such as signals from aircraft, automobiles, generators, snowmobiles, jet-skis, radios, television sets, boom boxes, or automobile sound systems.
—Bernie Krause & Stuart Gage, “Testing Biophony as an Indicator of Habitat Fitness and Dynamics” (PDF), SEKI Natural Soundscape Vital Signs Pilot Program, February 03, 2003
Notes
An important distinction for your next cocktail party conversation: Anthrophony refers to the sounds created by humans generally, while technophony refers to the sounds created by technology specifically.
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