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This report and the committee were supported by the National Oceanographic Partnership Program with funds provided by the Office of Naval Research, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, the National Science Foundation, and the U.S. Geological Survey. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and do not necessarily reflect the views of the sponsors.
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COMMITTEE ON POTENTIAL IMPACTS OF AMBIENT NOISE IN THE OCEAN ON MARINE MAMMALS
GEORGE FRISK, Chair,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts
DAVID BRADLEY,
Pennsylvania State University, State College
JACK CALDWELL,
WesternGeco, Houston, Texas
GERALD D’SPAIN,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego, California
JONATHAN GORDON,
Gatty Marine Laboratory, St. Andrews, Scotland
MARDI HASTINGS,
Ohio State University, Columbus (resigned 2002)
DARLENE KETTEN,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts
JAMES MILLER,
University of Rhode Island, Narragansett
DANIEL L. NELSON,
BBN Technologies, Cambridge, Massachusetts
ARTHUR N. POPPER,
University of Maryland, College Park
DOUGLAS WARTZOK,
Florida International University, Miami
Staff
MORGAN GOPNIK, Board Director
JENNIFER MERRILL, Study Director
ROBIN MORRIS, Financial Officer
JULIE PULLEY, Project Assistant
The work of this committee was overseen by the Ocean Studies Board of the National Research Council.
OCEAN STUDIES BOARD
NANCY RABALAIS, Chair,
Louisiana Universities Marine Consortium, Chauvin
ARTHUR BAGGEROER,
Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
JAMES COLEMAN,
Louisiana State University, Baton Rouge
LARRY CROWDER,
Duke University, Beaufort, North Carolina
RICHARD DERISO,
Inter-American Tropical Tuna Commission, La Jolla, California
ROBERT B. DITTON,
Texas A&M University, College Station
EARL DOYLE,
Shell Oil (ret.), Sugar Land, Texas
ROBERT DUCE,
Texas A&M University, College Station
WAYNE GEYER,
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts
MIRIAM KASTNER,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego, California
RALPH S. LEWIS,
Connecticut Geological Survey, Hartford
JULIAN MCCREARY, JR.,
University of Hawaii, Honolulu
JACQUELINE MICHEL,
Research Planning, Inc., Annapolis, Maryland
SCOTT NIXON,
University of Rhode Island, Narragansett
SHIRLEY A. POMPONI,
Harbor Branch Oceanographic Institution, Fort Pierce, Florida
FRED N. SPIESS,
Scripps Institution of Oceanography, San Diego, California
JON SUTINEN,
University of Rhode Island, Kingston
NANCY TARGETT,
University of Delaware, Lewes
Staff
MORGAN GOPNIK, Director
SUSAN ROBERTS, Senior Program Officer
DAN WALKER, Senior Program Officer
JOANNE BINTZ, Program Officer
JENNIFER MERRILL, Program Officer
TERRY SCHAEFER, Program Officer
ROBIN MORRIS, Financial Associate
JOHN DANDELSKI, Research Associate
SHIREL SMITH, Office Manager
JODI BACHIM, Senior Project Assistant
NANCY CAPUTO, Senior Project Assistant
DENISE GREENE, Senior Project Assistant
SARAH CAPOTE, Project Assistant
BYRON MASON, Project Assistant
JULIE PULLEY, Project Assistant
Preface
The Committee on Potential Impacts of Ambient Noise in the Ocean on Marine Mammals was charged with assessing our state of knowledge of underwater noise and recommending research areas to assist in determining whether noise in the ocean adversely affects marine mammals. The committee was selected to represent a diverse range of expertise, including acousticians and marine biologists, as well as an expert in geophysical exploration. The committee convened four times, beginning in March of 2001, including three open public sessions. A wide variety of experts in the field of marine mammals and noise addressed the committee and submitted materials for review. The committee is indebted to the following for their assistance: Dan Costa, University of California, Santa Cruz; Jim Finneran, Space and Naval Warfare (SPAWAR) Systems Center; Charles Greene, Greeneridge Sciences, Inc.; Richard Heitmeyer, Naval Research Lab; David Kastak, University of California, Santa Cruz; Charles Liberman, Harvard University; Bertl Møhl, Aarhus University; Paul Nachtigall, Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology; Charles O’Neill, Naval Oceanographic Office; Sam Ridgway, SPAWAR Systems Center; Ron Schusterman, University of California, Santa Cruz; Peter Tyack, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution; and William Watkins, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution.
In addition, valuable input to the committee’s work was provided by a number of researchers. The committee would like to offer sincere appreciation to Douglas Cato, Australia Department of Defence; Elena McCarthy, University of Rhode Island; Jennifer Miksis, University of Rhode Island; Kevin Smith, Naval Postgraduate School; and Eryn Wezensky, University of Rhode Island.
Two previous National Research Council reports examined the possible consequences of ocean noise on marine mammals. Low-Frequency Sound and Marine Mammals: Current Knowledge and Research Needs (NRC, 1994) provided an initial survey of our understanding of the impacts of marine noise on mammals. The second report, Marine Mammals and Low-Frequency Sound: Progress Since 1994 (NRC, 2000), primarily reviewed the marine mammal research conducted as part of the Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate (ATOC) experiments. Both reports provided a suite of recommendations, many of which still apply and some of which will be reiterated in this report.
Coincident with the deliberations of this committee, two Navy sonar systems received a very high level of attention from the press and environmental organizations. Use of one of the Navy sonar systems, the SQS-53C, a mid-range active sonar, was found to contribute to a stranding incident in the Bahamas. In addition, a separate, low-frequency active sonar system, the SURTASS-LFA, was approved by the National Marine Fisheries Service for use by the U.S. Navy. Both of these systems are discussed in this report, since they contribute noise to the oceans, but neither is discussed in detail.
One of the challenges in preparing this report was to standardize the units of measure. Another was to clarify commonly used terms in underwater acoustics, seismic exploration, and marine mammology. A glossary is included to assist with some of the general terminology in the report.
Chapter 1 of this report provides a brief overview of the issues pertaining to marine mammals and noise and the committee’s approach to answering its charge. Introductory material describes the physics of underwater sound, as a rudimentary understanding of these principles is necessary to understand the material that follows. Chapter 2 describes both natural and human contributions to noise in the ocean and discusses long-term trends in noise levels. Chapter 3 describes effects of ocean noise on marine mammals, focusing primarily on behavioral changes. Models of marine sound and its effects on marine mammals are described in Chapter 4. Chapter 5 contains findings and recommendations of the committee, drawing on the content of the previous chapters.
Acknowledgments
This report has been reviewed in draft form by individuals chosen for their diverse perspectives and technical expertise, in accordance with procedures approved by the NRC’s Report Review Committee. The purpose of this independent review is to provide candid and critical comments that will assist the institution in making its published report as sound as possible and to ensure that the report meets institutional standards for objectivity, evidence, and responsiveness to the study charge. The review comments and draft manuscript remain confidential to protect the integrity of the deliberative process. We wish to thank the following individuals for their review of this report:
Whitlow Au, University of Hawaii, Kaneohe
Douglas Cato, Department of Defence, Canberra, Australia
Robert Hofman (ret.), Marine Mammal Commission, Bethesda, Maryland
Elena McCarthy, University of Rhode Island, Newport
John Potter, National University of Singapore
Henrik Schmidt, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge
Jörn Thiede, Alfred Wegner Institute, Bremerhaven, Germany
Peter Tyack, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Massachusetts
Although the reviewers listed above have provided many constructive comments and suggestions, they were not asked to endorse the conclusions or recommendations nor did they see the final draft of the report before its release. The review of this report was overseen by Robert Knox, Scripps
Institution of Oceanography. Appointed by the National Research Council, he was responsible for making certain that an independent examination of this report was carried out in accordance with institutional procedures and that all review comments were carefully considered. Responsibility for the final content of this report rests entirely with the authoring committee and the institution.