Tag: underwater noise

The Port of Vancouver has launched a series of project under its 'ECHO Program' with the aim to provide a better understanding of vessel-related cumulative regional threats such as vessel underwater noise and its effects to marine environment.

Sound is critical for the survival of many marine animals. NOAA has released its final Ocean Noise Strategy Roadmap, which will guide the agency in more effectively and comprehensively managing ocean noise effects on marine life during the next decade.

When an endangered orca is in hot pursuit of an endangered salmon, sending out clicks and listening for their echoes in the murky ocean near Seattle, does the noise from the nearby shipping lane interfere with them catching dinner? To find out, scientists measured underwater noise as ships passed their study site 3,000 times. This unprecedented characterization of ship noise will aid in the understanding of the potential effects on marine life, and help with possible mitigation strategies.

 Port Metro Vancouver, with support from the University of Victoria’s Ocean Networks Canada and JASCO Applied Sciences, has deployed a hydrophone listening station that will monitor underwater vessel noise in the Strait of Georgia. Underwater noise has been identified as a key threat to at-risk whales.The hydrophone listening station deployment and monitoring activities are part of the Enhancing Cetacean Habitat and Observation (ECHO) Program. The program aims to better understand and manage the impact of shipping activities on at-risk whales throughout the southern coast of British Columbia.“Port Metro Vancouver is mandated by the Canada Marine Act to accommodate Canada’s growing trade demands in a way that is sustainable,” said Duncan Wilson, Vice President of Corporate Social Responsibility at Port Metro Vancouver.“We are working together with scientists, shipping industries, conservation and environmental groups, First Nations individuals and government agencies to take proactive action to improve conditions for whales.”The newly-deployed listening station is located under water in the inbound shipping lane of the Strait of Georgia, and will be monitoring and reporting on ambient noise levels, marine mammal detections, and passing vessel noise. Working in collaboration with the Pacific Pilotage Authority and the British Columbia Coast Pilots, the intention is to maneuver as ...

 ABP Marine Environmental Research (ABPmer) prepared a report on behalf of the UK Marine Management Organisation on underwater noise in the South marine plan areas. Quantification of underwater noise is a current and evolving topic in marine environmental science that is relevant to marine plan policy development. It is recognised that there is currently insufficient data to support a quantitative assessment of underwater noise levels and its impact on the natural environment at marine plan or national scale. This research and development work represents an initial step in addressing the recognised gap in availability of consistent plan scale indicative map(s) of anthropogenic underwater noise distribution and levels to support marine planning.A data and literature review of academic journals, government, non-government organisations and industry reports identified a wide range of marine noise sources. It found vessel traffic, fishinthis can be presented as g, and dredging to be the principle anthropogenic continuous noise sources relevant to the South plan areas.Indicative maps can inform sustainable development through improved awareness and consideration of continuous underwater noise in impact assessments, especially in relation to protected and commercially valuable species.This work resulted in the development of a reusable GIS tool that enables quantitative modelling of underwater noise ...

 As governments and industries expand their use of high-decibel seismic surveys to explore the ocean bottom for resources, experts from eight universities and environmental organizations are calling for new global standards and mitigation strategies. Their goal is to minimize the amount of sound the surveys produce and reduce risks the surveys and other underwater human noise pollution poses to vulnerable marine life.Firms and agencies conducting the surveys would benefit from these new measures, the experts assert, because instead of having to navigate an assortment of rules that vary by nation or region, they would have a uniform set of standards to follow."In recent years, we've seen an increase in the use of seismic surveys for oil and gas exploration and research, and for establishing national resource claims on ever-larger geographic scales. Surveys are now occurring in, or proposed for, many previously unexploited regions including parts of the Arctic Ocean and off the U.S. Atlantic coast," said Douglas P. Nowacek, an expert on marine ecology and bioacoustics at Duke University."The time has come for industries, governments, scientists and environmental organizations to work together to set practical guidelines to minimize the risks," he said.Nowacek and his colleagues published their recommendations in a peer-reviewed ...

  Green Marine has signed a nine-month contract with Transport Canada to provide insight on underwater noise generated by shipping and its effects on marine life, along with potential solutions. “I am pleased to announce Transport Canada’s support to this project,” said the Honourable Lisa Raitt, Minister of Transport. “The report that will be presented by Green Marine will help us to make informed decisions on how to minimize the underwater impacts of our marine transportation system.” “This agreement is a logical next step following the Memorandum of Cooperation that Green Marine and Transport Canada signed in 2012,” explained David Bolduc, Green Marine’s executive director. “We share the goal of enhancing environmental protection and performance in the marine shipping sector and we found a concrete way to collaborate in that regard with this project.” To meet the contract terms, Green Marine has hired Véronique Nolet as project manager – marine habitat. While temporarily replacing the organization’s program manager last fall, she laid out the foundations for some of Green Marine’s future environmental performance indicators regarding underwater noise. She also set up a working group to focus on the issue and three meetings have been held to date. In addition to ...

Underwater-radiated noise from commercial ships may have both short and long-term negative consequences on marine life, especially marine mammals. IMO’s Edward Kleverlaan, Head, Office for LC/LP & Ocean Affairs, has outlined IMO’s work on measures to reduce underwater noise, including the Guidelines for the reduction of underwater noise from commercial shipping to address adverse impacts on marine life (MEPC.1/Circ.833), at the World Organisation of Dredging Associations (WODA) Workshop on Underwater Sound in Relation to Dredging​, in Paris, France . The workshop focused on: Role of sound in the behaviour and well-being of marine species and ecosystems; Major sources, and trends in the prevalence and magnitude, of underwater noise; Impacts of underwater noise on various types of species, as well as broader impacts on ecosystem health, including implications of cumulative impacts of multiple sources of noise; Major knowledge gaps regarding the short- and long-term negative consequences for marine animals and other biota in the marine environment, as well as socioeconomic implications.   Additional information IMO MEPC.1/ Circ.833 Experts debate underwater noise impact Bureau Veritas launches underwater noise reduction notation RINA tackles ocean noise pollution Source: IMO  In the start, I was frank with you propecia before and after has changed my ...