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Ocean Noise and Marine Mammals (2003)

Chapter: Front Matter

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Ocean Noise and Marine Mammals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10564.
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OCEAN NOISE AND MARINE MAMMALS

Committee on Potential Impacts of Ambient Noise in the Ocean on Marine Mammals

Ocean Studies Board

Division on Earth and Life Studies

NATIONAL RESEARCH COUNCIL OF THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
Washington, D.C. www.nap.edu

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Ocean Noise and Marine Mammals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10564.
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THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES PRESS
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NOTICE: The project that is the subject of this report was approved by the Governing Board of the National Research Council, whose members are drawn from the councils of the National Academy of Sciences, the National Academy of Engineering, and the Institute of Medicine. The members of the committee responsible for the report were chosen for their special competences and with regard for appropriate balance.

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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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Ocean Noise and Marine Mammals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10564.
×

THE NATIONAL ACADEMIES

Advisers to the Nation on Science, Engineering, and Medicine

The National Academy of Sciences is a private, nonprofit, self-perpetuating society of distinguished scholars engaged in scientific and engineering research, dedicated to the furtherance of science and technology and to their use for the general welfare. Upon the authority of the charter granted to it by the Congress in 1863, the Academy has a mandate that requires it to advise the federal government on scientific and technical matters. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts is president of the National Academy of Sciences.

The National Academy of Engineering was established in 1964, under the charter of the National Academy of Sciences, as a parallel organization of outstanding engineers. It is autonomous in its administration and in the selection of its members, sharing with the National Academy of Sciences the responsibility for advising the federal government. The National Academy of Engineering also sponsors engineering programs aimed at meeting national needs, encourages education and research, and recognizes the superior achievements of engineers. Dr. Wm. A. Wulf is president of the National Academy of Engineering.

The Institute of Medicine was established in 1970 by the National Academy of Sciences to secure the services of eminent members of appropriate professions in the examination of policy matters pertaining to the health of the public. The Institute acts under the responsibility given to the National Academy of Sciences by its congressional charter to be an adviser to the federal government and, upon its own initiative, to identify issues of medical care, research, and education. Dr. Harvey V. Fineberg is president of the Institute of Medicine.

The National Research Council was organized by the National Academy of Sciences in 1916 to associate the broad community of science and technology with the Academy’s purposes of furthering knowledge and advising the federal government. Functioning in accordance with general policies determined by the Academy, the Council has become the principal operating agency of both the National Academy of Sciences and the National Academy of Engineering in providing services to the government, the public, and the scientific and engineering communities. The Council is administered jointly by both Academies and the Institute of Medicine. Dr. Bruce M. Alberts and Dr. Wm. A. Wulf are chair and vice chair, respectively, of the National Research Council.

www.national-academies.org

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Ocean Noise and Marine Mammals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10564.
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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.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Ocean Noise and Marine Mammals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10564.
×

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

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Ocean Noise and Marine Mammals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10564.
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Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Ocean Noise and Marine Mammals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10564.
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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.

Page viii Cite
Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Ocean Noise and Marine Mammals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10564.
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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.

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Ocean Noise and Marine Mammals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10564.
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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

Suggested Citation:"Front Matter." National Research Council. 2003. Ocean Noise and Marine Mammals. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press. doi: 10.17226/10564.
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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.

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For the 119 species of marine mammals, as well as for some other aquatic animals, sound is the primary means of learning about the environment and of communicating, navigating, and foraging. The possibility that human-generated noise could harm marine mammals or significantly interfere with their normal activities is an issue of increasing concern. Noise and its potential impacts have been regulated since the passage of the Marine Mammal Protection Act of 1972. Public awareness of the issue escalated in 1990s when researchers began using high-intensity sound to measure ocean climate changes. More recently, the stranding of beaked whales in proximity to Navy sonar use has again put the issue in the spotlight.

Ocean Noise and Marine Mammals reviews sources of noise in the ocean environment, what is known of the responses of marine mammals to acoustic disturbance, and what models exist for describing ocean noise and marine mammal responses. Recommendations are made for future data gathering efforts, studies of marine mammal behavior and physiology, and modeling efforts necessary to determine what the long- and short-term impacts of ocean noise on marine mammals.

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