Dr. Marsha Green’s quest to regulate ocean noise impacts

The world’s oceans are reeling under a myriad of impacts. A large part of this is due to man’s tampering with the vast aquatic ecosystem resources covering two-thirds of planet Earth. According to landmark reports issued by the Pew Oceans Commission, 30 percent of coral reefs are gone, 80 percent of krill stocks are gone, and 90 percent of the ocean’s large fish have been over-fished.

Speaking last week at the Pacific Whale Foundation’s Ocean Discovery Center in Ma`alaea, Dr. Marsha Green spelled out the expanding awareness of another human-caused impact: underwater noise pollution. Green, a Professor at Fulbright College and President of the Ocean Mammal Institute, started talking about this topic back in 1998 on Maui, where she has conducted research since 1986.

Renowned oceanographer Jacques Cousteau referred to the vast undersea ocean regions as, “The Silent World” (also the title of his 1953 best-selling book,) Green reminded us. But today, it is anything but silent, with a cacophony of clatter emanating from ship traffic, underwater drilling and demolition, seismic air guns from oil and gas exploration, and Navy Mid-Frequency and Low-Frequency Active Sonar testing.

Water’s density means that it transmits sound much more effectively than air. Indeed, swimmers diving down in Hawaiian waters during whale season may easily hear the songs of humpback whales, possibly from miles away. Like many other ocean mammals and other creatures, the humpbacks depend upon subtle auditory cues to interpret the undersea world around them.

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(Source: Maui Time Weekly)