A bubble curtain, also known as a pneumatic barrier, is an underwater system designed to protect marine life from the harmful effects of underwater noise and pollution. It works by releasing a continuous stream of air bubbles from perforated hoses placed on the seabed. The bubbles propel through hoses or nozzle pipes with the help of oil-free air compressors.
As the bubbles rise to the surface, they form a vertical barrier that traps pollutants and disrupts the transmission of harmful sound waves. The curtain also separates fresh and saltwater areas in nearshore landscapes, preserving ecological balance and biodiversity. Moreover, it improves the water quality by enhancing oxygenation.
A bubble curtain in the Adelaide region in southern Australia. Image: Stefan Andrews
Bubbles with big impact
A shining example of a bubble curtain’s protective power can be found in the Adelaide region in southern Australia. Each winter, thousands of giant cuttlefish (Sepia apama), a near-threatened species known for their dazzling colour displays and intelligence, gather in the Upper Spencer Gulf to reproduce.
In 2025, when a record-breaking toxic algal bloom threatened to smother up to 80,000 giant cuttlefish eggs along the rocky shoreline at Cuttlefish Coast, the South Australian Department of Environment and Water (DEW) acted swiftly.
They partnered with Atlas Copco Specialty Rental and Canadian Pond to deploy a bubble curtain – an Australian first for such a large-scale marine conservation challenge.
Left image: Each year, thousands of giant cuttlefish gather in the Upper Spencer Gulf to reproduce. This near-threatened species is emblematic of the Adelaide region.
Right image: The installed bubble curtain, covering 20,000 m² of rocky shoreline, protects the cuttlefish spawning grounds in the Upper Spencer Gulf, Australia. The compressed air is provided by two oil-free Atlas Copco compressors, with power supplied by a TwinPower generator. (Image: Stefan Andrews)
Enabled by oil-free compressed air
The Adelaide project relies on Bubble Tubing® technology – a perforated tubing system engineered to evenly diffuse oil-free compressed air along its length, creating a continuous bubble barrier.
The installed layout releases up to 1,600 cfm of air generated onsite by two oil-free Atlas Copco compressors, with power supplied by a TwinPower generator. This technology is proven to work reliably, even in the harshest coastal environments.
The fast-start curtain was designed with the gulf’s tidal movements in mind, using single and double layers of Bubble Tubing® to efficiently divert algae away from the protected site.
The entire installation protects 20,000 m² of rocky shoreline and was completed, commissioned and on standby in just 10 days – ready to protect the cuttlefish spawning grounds.
