2002 CPEO Military List Archive

From: CPEO Moderator <cpeo@cpeo.org>
Date: 26 Aug 2002 18:50:27 -0000
Reply: cpeo-military
Subject: [CPEO-MEF] Researcher calls sonar tests OK
 
Researcher calls sonar tests OK
The study finds thatunderwater noise does not drive away marine mammals

By Helen Altonn
haltonn@starbulletin.com

Low-frequency sounds being emitted in an ocean study off North Kauai
aren't keeping whales away or deterring them from reproducing, says
researcher Joseph Mobley.

Overall, he said, "Our findings were basically benign, so it's likely
the National Marine Fisheries Service will have no problem with it."

Mobley conducted eight aerial surveys this year to monitor effects on
marine mammals of underwater noise from the Scripps Institution of
Oceanography's North Pacific Acoustic Laboratory on Kauai. He then
compared the findings with results of an aerial survey last year when
the sound source was off.

The University of Hawaii-West Oahu psychology professor is the lead UH
researcher for marine mammal monitoring studies conducted for the
Acoustic Thermometry of Ocean Climate (ATOC) project.

The five-year program is designed to study ocean temperatures with sound
transmissions over long distances. Testing began in January with final
Navy approval and is done every four days with six 20-minute
transmissions in one day.

The research has been controversial because of concerns about effects of
the sounds on humpback whales, although scientists reported no
significant effects in two years of preliminary tests.

This article article can be viewed at:
http://starbulletin.com/2002/08/25/news/story7.html

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