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Six Years Later, Canary Island Strandings Still Spur Questions
October 1, 2008The BBC has run a three-story series that reflects on the stranding deaths of six beaked whales during NATO sonar training exercises in late September 2002. Coming two years after a similar incident in the Bahamas during a US Navy sonar training exercise, the Canaries stranding cemented a growing concern about the potential for […]
Warming spurs new 400km undersea sound channel in Arctic
January 23, 2017In recent years, researchers have documented sound transmission across 400 kilometers, four times farther than before the emergence of this channel, dubbed the Beaufort Lens.
New maps offer more detail to ocean planners about how animal concentrations change during the year
March 8, 2016An ongoing challenge for ocean regulators has been our relatively coarse understanding of where ocean animals are at any given time. For many species, we’ve been limited to relatively broad-brush data, such as regional population estimates or having a moderately clear idea about particular feeding or breedings areas, with limited knowledge of where these same animals […]
New NOAA maps offer compelling picture of ocean noise
January 6, 2013In December, NOAA announced the release of the first large-scale ocean noise maps, which have been in development for the past two years. The Underwater Sound Field Mapping Working Group modeled many sources of sound occurring within 200 miles of the US coast (including ships, seismic surveys, sonar, pile driving, and oil platform decommissioning), as […]
Follow SOCAL D-tag and controlled exposure field work at SEABlog
July 31, 2012As usual, Brandon Southall is posting regularly from sea as his research team begins the third year of a five year Behavioral Response Study off the coast of southern California. The field work is largely focused on conducting controlled exposure experiments (CEE) on a fairly wide variety of species, in order to learn more about […]
First-ever lawsuit challenges Gulf of Mexico oil, gas development
February 11, 2011For the first time, decades of oil and gas development in the Gulf of Mexico is being challenged in court, on the grounds that the noise of seismic surveys used to pinpoint oil reservoirs has a negative impact on the region’s endangered sperm whales. A consortium of environmental groups, including the NRDC, CBD, and Sierra Club […]
Right whale gives birth about 10 miles from proposed Undersea Warfare Training Range
March 24, 2010A whale surveying team enjoyed a rare sight yesterday, as a right whale gave birth as they watched from a small plane. It was only the second time that a birth had been observed in this species, but the excitement was tempered a bit by the fact that it took place about ten miles from […]
Mediterranean Beaked Whale BRS Cruise: No Tags, New Passive Monitoring Technique
October 22, 2009A five-week beaked whale Behavioral Response Study in the Mediterranean concluded in early September with a mixed bag of results: while researchers were unable to affix D-tags to any beaked or pilot whales, they were quite successful in using a new mobile Passive Acoustic Monitoring system which could be very useful in years to come. […]
China, US Discuss LFAS in China EEZ
August 31, 2009During bilateral meetings on maritime safety, China asked the US to phase out surveillance activity using Low-Frequency Active Sonar near its coast. Over the past year, there have been five incidents in which Chinese ships (Naval and fishing boats) harassed the USNS Impeccable, one of two US ships equipped with LFAS, and other Navy ships. […]
China Continues Pushback Against Lurking LFAS Ship
June 8, 2009Throughout the spring, China has been actively complaining about the presence of the USNS Impeccable off its coast (see earlier AEInews coverage). This week, the “Bejing Review,” an English-language weekly, ran a story on the controversy, playing the environmental card in its efforts to reach in international audience, though some of its examples confused mid-frequency […]
“Gliders” Coming of Age for Ocean Acoustic Monitoring
June 5, 2009One of the more exciting new technologies to come of age in the past couple years is ocean “gliders” that can cruise the seas, silently or nearly so, while collecting data ranging from temperature and salinity to sounds. The gliders are small (roughly 6 feet long), and surface periodically to send data to satellite communication […]
US to Sell Pakistan 445 Sonobuoys
March 20, 2009The United States and Pakistan are cooperating in a new initiative to supply the Pakistani Navy with 445 sonobuoys, including mid-frequency active sonar units used to detect quiet submarines. It is not clear what subs would be the target for this program (the “Taliban Navy” and “Taliban Airforce” are often tossed out by bemused observers […]
Philippines Stranding Spurs Wild Speculation by Senator
February 11, 2009In the Philippines this week, over 200 melon-headed whales appeared in near-shore waters across a large bay from Manilla, and appeared confused about how to get out. Initial speculation ran wild, as a Philippine Senator called for an inquiry into whether the US research vessel the R.V. Langseth had created the trouble while doing a […]
Passive Acoustic Detection of Beaked Whales: Easy Within 1km, Harder Beyond That, and Take Your Time!
December 16, 2008The US Navy and others are working hard to find ways to detect elusive beaked whales so that they may be less apt to be triggered into behaviors that seem to cause them to occasionally beach and die. One “great white hope” is passive acoustic detection, or listening for their calls. A recent paper from […]
Undersea Warfare Training Range DEIS Moves Site to Florida, Near Right Whale Calving Area
September 29, 2008A new Draft Overseas EIS released by the Navy shifts the preferred site for a long-planned sonar training range from North Carolina to Florida, near Jacksonville. The 575 square mile Undersea Warfare Training Range would be outfitted with a grid of instrumentation which is designed to provide detailed feedback during training missions using mid-frequency […]
UK Strandings Lead to Murky Picture of Naval Activity
June 11, 2008A week after the UK’s worst dolphin stranding since 1981, reports from locals and the UK Navy are conflicting. Two weeks of live-fire exercises were wrapping up in the area over last weekend, with the Navy first claiming to have concluded those exercises Sunday afternoon, then saying that in fact the last live-fire took place […]
LFAS Challenged Again
February 6, 2008Court Forces Navy to Meet With NRDC to Limit LFAS Deployment, Again – In August, the Navy received a 5-year permit to operate its Low-Frequency Active Sonar system on two ships, nearly anywhere in the world, after several years during which its deployment was limited to a remote area of the West Pacific. This week, the […]
Beaked Whale Controlled Exposure Study Begins
January 15, 2008Controlled Exposure Study Examines Beaked Whale Responses to Noise – A multi-year research program based at a Navy facility in the Bahamas is using hydrophones installed on the seafloor, along with suction-attached tags that record the sound heard by tagged whales to learn more about how dive patterns are changed when whales hear mid-frequency sonar signals. […]