The AcousticEcology.org News Digest contains the latest information on the full range of sound issues and research. Here you'll find issues updates and recent news items, drawn from a wide range of sources, including both science and general interest press from around the world, as well as alerts from environmental organizations.

Follow links above for more detail on specific topics; issue areas will summarize key themes, while the Archives hold news items of interest. The Acoustic Ecology Institute has also prepared a number of more in-depth Special Reports on key and recurring topics of interest. At the bottom of this page you will find current Action Alerts and event notices.

Western Soundscape Archive Hosts Hundreds of Animal Sounds - A new sound archive hosted by the University of Utah promises to provide an important repository for rare and often disappearing sounds of the American west. Jeff Rice, a radio producer and recordist who is spearheading the Western Soundscape Archive, says that the library has recordings of about 75 percent of the 53 frog and toad species in the states involved — Arizona, California, Colorado, Idaho, Montana, New Mexico, Nevada, Oregon, Utah, Washington and Wyoming. It has about 70 percent of the birds and dozens of mammal and reptile recordings. As habitat disappears, Rice notes that sometimes, "It's a race against time." The recordings, even heard from the safety of a desktop, can stir something primal in the DNA, a sudden flight response, for instance, in the case of a rattlesnake. "Responses to those kinds of sounds are almost reflexive," says Kurt Fristrup of the National Park Service's Natural Sounds Program. "Most of us learn to ignore what our ears tell us and focus on the task at hand because we live in really noisy habitat," Fristrup said. "But in some ways, hearing is the most alerting sense, directing us to things that matter." At the recently-launched Western Soundscape Archive website, visitors can hear over 800 recordings, with more being added all the time. Source: AP, 10/6/08 [READ ARTICLE] [WESTERN SOUNDSCAPE ARCHIVE WEBSITE]

Fish Farm Raises Noise Concerns in South Africa - A proposed aquaculture project offshore near Cape Town, South Africa, has local tourism promoters concerned about noise impacts. The fish farm would be composed of 36 huge cages, each one 70-100m long, mostly submerged, but protruding slightly from the water's surface. Mossel Bay Tourism chairman Louis Cook said he was not happy with the public participation process which included meetings in Cape Town, but not in Mossel Bay, where “the real stakeholders can be found”, he said. Cook said contentions at the Cape Town meeting that the fish farm would have a minimal impact on whale movements in the bay were doubtful as the proposed cage area was a prime whale viewing spot. The fish farm's plan to use acoustic deterrent devices (ADDs) to keep whales and sharks away from the fish farm was alarming because “our experience has shown that the whale population drops when large-scale fishing, with its accompanying noise from droning motors, takes place in the bay.” Source: The Herald, 10/6/08 [READ ARTICLE]

New Device Deters Seals From Fishfarms, Construction With "Fingers on Chalkboard" Effect, Not Painful Volume - Fish farms often have to cope with seals swimming up to their cages and grabbing lunch. The use of Acoustic Deterrent Devices is widespread, but have problems: first, to have a deterrent effect, the sounds must be loud enough to chase seals away, which means that they can pain or cause physical injury to hearing as well; and second, animals tend to acclimate to the noise. A new system being developed at St. Andrews University in Scotland takes a different approach, which does not produce sounds near the pain threshold of sea mammals. Vincent Janik's team has created a deterrent that uses a sound that is adverse but not loud. He said there are many examples of these kinds of sounds for humans. "The famous example is the fingers over the chalkboard,' said Janik. 'It's not a very loud sound but, nevertheless, we have a very strong physiological response when we try to avoid the sound. We've exploited these kinds of phenomenon to develop systems that work in the same way for seals.' In addition to protecting fish farms, another application for these systems could be offshore construction sites. Janik said the noises created during the construction of offshore wind farms, for example, can be extremely loud and they can cause injury to sea mammals like dolphins. "So devices like this could be used to keep dolphins away from sites for the duration of construction," Janik said. The device will turn on only when an animal is detected in nearby waters. Source: The Engineer, 10/1/08 [READ ARTICLE]

Six Years Later, Canary Island Strandings Still Spur Questions - The BBC has run a three-story series that reflects on the stranding deaths of six beaked whales during NATO sonar training exercises in late September 2002. Coming two years after a similar incident in the Bahamas during a US Navy sonar training exercise, the Canaries stranding cemented a growing concern about the potential for injury in the deep-diving beaked whale family. Studies that took place in nearby Las Palmas revealed the first clear evidence of tissue damage in the injured whales, and while scientists still are not certain of what sort of disruptions in the dive patterns may cause the injuries, this set of tissue lesions has become a "smoking gun" for sonar-induced injury.

The BBC pieces are all well worth a read. The first provides a good historical look at the impact of the 2002 strandings and the research that has taken place since then. The second addresses how little we still know about beaked whales, and the third is a diary of several days at sea on a beaked whale research trip. All three include video clips of interest. Sources: BBC, 9/28-30/08 [READ ARTICLE: STRANDINGS] [READ ARTICLE: BEAKED WHALES] [READ ARTICLE: RESEARCH DIARY]

Supreme Court to Hear Sonar Case October 8 - Oral arguments on the California sonar case will take place before the Supreme Court on Wednesday, October 8, in the culmination of perhaps the most convoluted sonar challenge to date. The case began as a simple NEPA challenge to routine Naval sonar training off the Southern California coast in early 2007. NRDC and its co-plaintiffs contended that the Navy should have prepared an EIS, and a District Court judge issued a preliminary injunction imposing additional safety measures (most centrally, increasing the "shut down zone" from 200 yards to 2000 meters), based on her reading that NRDC's legal challenge was likely to prevail and there was a likelihood of injury to marine mammals under the Navy's proposed safety measures. While the Navy appealed this decision, the Executive Branch (CEQ) interceded, attempting to overturn the injunction and impose its own safety measures, claiming the injunction had created an "emergency" since sonar training was essential. The Appeals Court returned the decision on this question to the District Court, which ruled that the Executive Branch had overstepped its authority in designing safety measures, and that no emergency existed. The Appeals Court fundamentally upheld the lower court decision, though it allowed some of the safety measures to be put on hold while the case reached its final resolution. Even as they approach their date with the Supreme Court, the two sides are framing the case rather differently. The Navy will argue that the court order of extra safety measures were disruptive enough to essential training so as to warrant an emergency designation, so that the CEQ intervention was in fact legal. In addition, the Navy will argue that even if CEQ had overstepped its bounds, the District Court had not established that injury to whales met the legal threshold of certainty required for an injunction to be issued, and further, that the risks to national security had not been sufficiently considered. The NRDC frames the case as more simply a matter of judging the facts of likely injury, and that the lower court and appeals court had indeed found a "near certainty" of harm; it also holds that the CEQ had no legal standing to intevene in a judicial matter, and that to do so would raise serious separation of powers issues. It is unlikely that the Supreme Court will wade into the "factual" questions about how likely injury may be (which would involve deciphering voluminous scientific research), and that the case will revolve around how much power the Executive Branch can yield in the name of national security when military plans are challenged on environmental and legal grounds, or, conversely, how far a court can go in imposing its own remedies in scientific and environmental protection matters (one Navy argument is that he court had the power only to order an EIS, not to decide what mitigations were sufficient). Central to the original District Court decision is the District Court's belief that the Navy could, in fact, successfully conduct its training while using the enhanced safety measures contained in the injunction. The Navy's response to NRDC's brief includes vigorous arguments that their training would be seriously impaired under the restrictions imposed. Sources: San Jose Mercury News, 9/27/08 [READ ARTICLE] SCOTUS Blog, 6/12/08 (good summary of case) [READ ARTICLE] SCOTUS Blog, 6/19/08 (scroll down, 3rd from bottom; includes links to Navy petition, NRDC brief, and Navy response) [READ ARTICLE]

Undersea Warfare Training Range DEIS Moves Site to Florida, Near Grey Whale Calving Area - A new Draft Overseas EIS released by the Navy shifts the preferred site for a long-planned sonar training range from North Carolina to Florida. The 575 square mile Undersea Warfare Training Range would be outfitted with a grid of instrumentation which is designed to provide detailed feedback during training missions using mid-frequency active sonar. The instrumentation, including passive listening devices, would also allow for more robust monitoring for marine mammals.

The Navy's environmental analysis concludes, as it did in a similar document prepared in 2004, that the sonar training is unlikely to kill any animals, and that any behavioral disruption will be temporary and mild. The proposed site is fifty miles offshore, in an area where threatened North Atlantic right whales congregate nearer to shore each year to give birth. "We believe we're far enough off that we're not going to have an adverse effect on right whales," said Jene Nissen, environmental acoustics manager for the Navy's Fleet Forces Command. Navy analysts concluded that humpback and right whales might behave differently when exposed to sonar from the range. But Nissen said the effects would be low-level, and not permanent. Michael Jasny, a senior policy analyst for the Natural Resources Defense Council, isn't convinced. Jasny said the 1,000 pages of analysis the Navy compiled to support its decision "makes no attempt to consider cumulative effects on marine mammals, beyond glib statements that they wouldn't occur." Marguerite Jordan, a spokeswoman for Florida's Department of Environmental Protection, said the agency has begun reviewing the Navy's analysis. The state has not reached any conclusions, she said. If previous experience is a guide, the Navy could run into stiff opposition from the Florida Fish & Wildlife Conservation Commission. In January 2006, the commission told the Navy that Florida's northern waters should not be considered for the training range - and in no case should the range be used between mid-October and mid-April, when right whale calves typically are born. "The winter inhabitants off the coast of Jacksonville include the most vulnerable component of the right whale population," the commission said in a seven-page letter to the Navy in 2006. "The additional noise levels and increased vessel traffic could jeopardize the females and calves of a species that is already at high risk of extinction.... We believe the importance of the southeastern calving grounds to the persistence of the species renders the Jacksonville [operating area] inappropriate." Public comments are being accepted through October 27. Sources: Virginian-Pilot, 9/29/08 [READ ARTICLE] Jacksonville Shorelines, 9/22/08 [READ ARTICLE] Charleston Post and Courier, 9/17/08 [READ ARTICLE] [NAVY DOEIS WEBSITE] [DOWNLOAD PAGE FOR DOEIS SECTIONS]

Draft EIS Released for First Wind Farm on National Forest Land - The Green Mountain National Forest in Vermont has released a Draft Environmental Impact Statement for a proposed 17-turbine wind farm. This is the first wind farm proposal for National Forest land to make it this far through the planning process. Public comments are being accepted through November 30. Source: NFS Press Release, 9/10/08 [READ PRESS RELEASE] [WEBPAGE TO DOWNLOAD EIS]

Third Yellowstone Snowmobile Plan Tossed by Federal Court - The eternal cycle of Yellowstone "Winter Use Plans" looks to continue for at least one more round, as the third "final" National Park Service rule governing snowmobile access to Yellowstone and Grand Teton National Parks has been tossed out by a Federal District Court after challenges form a consortium of environmental organizations.

DC-based judge Emmet Sullivan found that the NPS plan that would allow 540 snowmobiles to enter the parks each day was "arbitrary and capricious." Sullivan expressed three key objections: the current average use of 263 snowmobiles is already exceeding the noise standards set by the Park Service (with the additional snowmobiles likely to further increase the area in which snowmobiles are audible for over half the day from 21 square miles to 63 square miles); NPS “utterly failed to explain why none of the seven alternatives would constitute impairment or unacceptable impacts" (despite NPS figures that suggest an increase in exhaust gasses and particulates of 18-100%); and NPS "failed to provide a rational explanation for the source of the 540 snowmobile limit." The case turned on how to interpret the Organic Act, a 1916 law that established the Park Service and charged it with a primary task to "conserve park resources and values." The Act allows impacts if they do not impair park resources; the NPS was arguing that the Act only prohibits "unacceptable impacts;" the Judge noted that the Act requires a stricter standard, "to 'provide for the enjoyment' of the parks' resources and values in 'such manner and by such means as will leave them unimpaired for the enjoyment of future generations'...This is not blanket permission to have fun in the parks in any way the NPS sees fit," concluded Sullivan. “There have been four studies and $10 million spent, and every study shows the best way to get people in the park and protect it is through snow coach access, not snowmobiles,” said Chris Mehl, a spokesman for the Wilderness Society in Bozeman, Mont., one of the parties to the lawsuit. “This upholds the promise and possibility of Yellowstone.” Jack Welch of the Blue Ribbon Coalition, a motorized use advocacy group, called the decision “bizarre and far reaching” and said Sullivan’s ruling could severely limit public access in national parks across the country. While the ruling does leave some uncertainties for the 2008-09 winter, the Park Service has the power to enact a temporary winter-use plan. “We’re planning to be open to visitors for the winter season beginning December 15 as scheduled,” noted NPS spokesman Al Nash. Under interim rules in force for the past three winters, 720 snowmobiles were allowed to enter the park each day, though actual use was far less, primarily due to a requirement that all snowmobiles be part of guided tours. A new interim rule will likely be issued to govern this winter's activities, using either the 720 or 540-machine limit. Rep. Colin Simpson of Cody noted that it's possible the Monday ruling “reverts back to the 2000 (Clinton-era) Record of Decision that phased out snowmobiles” in the park, adding that “I thought the original Record of Decision was arbitrary and capricious.” On the same day that Sullivan threw out the plan, a very different challenge to the Rule was receiving a hearing in a Wyoming Court: the State of Wyoming is arguing for a return of the 720-machine limit, and for some of those riders to be free to ride on their own, without guides. Federal District Judge Clarence Brimmer, who submitted his resignation two years ago but is still awaiting a replacement, ruled against a similar challenge mounted in 2006 when the guides-only rule was first instigated. These same two judges have presided over dueling cases since early in the Bush administration; Brimmer ruled that the Clinton-era planned phase-out of snowmobiles (Winter Use Plan 1) was illegal, while Sullivan ruled that the Bush plan (Winter Use Plan 2) was also invalid. That impasse led to the current Winter Use Plan 3, now also back up in the air. Sources: New York Times, 9/16/08 [READ ARTICLE] Casper Star-Tribune, 9/16/08 [READ ARTICLE] Cody Enterprise, 9/16/08 [READ ARTICLE] Jackson Hole News and Guide, 9/16/08 [READ ARTICLE] Kansas City Infozine, 9/16/08 [READ ARTICLE] Washington Post, 9/15/08 [READ ARTICLE]
[See AEI Special Report: Yellowstone Winter Use]

WDCS Sponsors Population Surveys in Moray Firth in Preparation for Possible Offshore Energy Proposals - The UK-based Whale and Dolphin Conservation Society is conducting marine mammal surveys in Scotland's Moray Firth this summer, in order to provide the government with more accurate population figures as it moves ahead with proposed oil and gas exploration and wind energy development in the sensitive area. Sarah Dolman of WDCS notes that "The oil and gas industries are doing a lot at the moment with very little information." As well as a population of about 130 bottlenose dolphins, other species, including minke whales, harbour porpoises, white-beaked dolphins and basking sharks have all also been spotted in the Moray Firth. The dolphins are protected under EU law in an Special Area of Conservation.

Dolman supports plans in the draft Scottish Marine Bill to set out a network of marine protection areas around Scotland, but says she is concerned about suggestions in the consultation document that there will be a presumption of "sustainable use" in the areas, which she thinks could see industry, fishing, and shipping in fragile spots. Instead she wants the bill to set a presumption that areas with important marine species should be left free of industry – from fishing to renewables – unless they can prove they have no impact on the underwater wildlife. "We are very supportive of marine protection areas as long as they protect marine areas, which is what they are supposed to be about," she said. The UK government is currently considering offering oil and gas exploration leases in the Firth. Source: The Scotsman, 8/23/08 [READ ARTICLE]

5-Year Study Finds Little Impact on Sperm Whales From Distant Seismic Surveys, With Some Indications of Closer Range Effects - The Minerals Management Service has released the final report of the Sperm Whale Seismic Study, which lasted five years and used acoustic D-tags that track the movements of whales while also recording received sound levels. Unfortunately, few of the 98 whales that were successfully tagged during the study came any closer than 5km to the seismic survey air guns being used as the test sound source, so the final conclusions only address long-range impacts. According to Doug Biggs of Texas A&M, one of the lead scientists, "The bottom line is that airgun noise from seismic surveys that are thousands of yards distant does not drive away sperm whales living in the Gulf." Biggs also noted that some individual whales feeding at depth reduced the rate at which they made echolocation clicks while in search of prey when the air guns came closer; not enough instances of this occurred during the study to make definitive conclusions about how large an impact this might cause. The study provided a wealth of new information about the Gulf of Mexico sperm whale population, which appears to be genetically distinct from open-ocean sperm whale stockes, smaller in size and with distict vocalization patterns. Source: PhysOrg.com, 8/21/08 [READ ARTICLE] ScienceDaily/Texas A&M, 8/21/08 [READ ARTICLE]

Noise-Dampening System Being Developed for Wind Turbines - Researchers are developing an active noise-cancelling system designed to be installed on wind turbines. “These systems react autonomously to any change in frequency and damp the noise – regardless of how fast the wind generator is turning,” says André Illgen of the Fraunhofer Institute for Machine Tools and Forming Technology IWU in Dresden. The key components of this system are piezo actuators. These devices convert electric current into mechanical motion and generate “negative vibrations”, or a kind of anti-noise that precisely counteracts the vibrations of the wind turbine and cancels them out. The piezo actuators are mounted on the gearbox bearings that connect the gearbox to the pylon. Source: Science Daily, 8/13/08 [READ ARTICLE]

US Navy Agrees to Geographical Limits on LFAS - A federal district court has approved a settlement between the Navy and a NRDC-led coalition of environmental groups that will limit training missions using Low-Frequency Active Sonar to several specific regions in the Paciific Ocean. Negotiations were ordered by the court after NRDC challenged the legality of permits the Navy received which would have allowed nearly worldwide use of the powerful submarine-detection system. Ed note: in practice, the Navy's two LFAS-equipped ships have remained in the western Pacific, where they can monitor Chinese and North Korean subs. The new agreement allows the Navy to use LFAS in more areas than were allowed under a similar agreement several years ago, including waters near the Philippines and Japan (with seasonal restrictions), as well as areas north and south of Hawaii, while explicitly banning its use in some biologically important areas, including marine sanctuaries near Hawaii. The agreement applies only to training and allows the Navy to use LFAS elsewhere when necessary to track submarines during actual operations. The Hawaiian operations will stay at least 50 miles from the islands, but will allow for more convenient training missions for Hawaii-based units. Since LFAS signals can remain loud enough to potentially trigger behavioral responses for rather long distances (the Navy estimates that LFAS signals would be 140dB at 300km), the new Hawaiian operations may provide some opportunities to see whether mid-range effects are seen. Both parties seem happy with the agreement, in keeping with the judge's initial court order to negotiate, which required the parties to report to her on their progress on last Valentine's Day. "We are satisfied with this settlement, and we appreciate the mediator's efforts to help the parties come to an agreement," said Pentagon spokeman Lt. Sean Robertson said, while Michael Jasny, a senior policy analyst with the Natural Resources Defense Council, said, "We don't have to choose between national security and protecting the environment. Today's agreement maintains the Navy's ability to test and train, while shielding whales and other vulnerable species from harmful underwater noise." Sources: Hawaii Star-Bulletin, 8/13/08 [READ ARTICLE] ENS, 8/12/08 [READ ARTICLE] San Francisco Chronicle, 8/13/08 [READ ARTICLE]
[See AEI Special Report: Active Sonars]

UK Couple Receive Tax Reduction After House Value Drops Due to Wind Farm Noise - Julian and Jill Davis of Deeping St. Nicholas, England, some of the better-known neighbors of wind farms with noise issues, have had their property tax reduced after being forced to move from their home, and more recently having a real estate agent decline to list the property, saying that it was un-sellable due to the noise issues. Mrs Davis said: "We are absolutely delighted. At last, there is recognition of what we have always known that wind farms inappropriately sited can materially affect the value of your property. "This opens the doors for others in a similar position to apply for a similar rebanding of their property. "Not every wind farm causes problems, but at the moment, the science is not good enough." She added that they didn't want to sell their home and would like to return. But they are forced to live "in exile" because the noise leaves them unable to get to sleep on many nights when the wind triggers a phenomenon known as "amplitude modulation" that creates a low-frequency pulsing sound. Mrs. Davis noted that the wind industry's aggresive siting procedures and denial of potential noise issues is creating a barrier for the greater use of green power. A local organization, Fenland Against Rural Turbines, has called for a complete cessation of turbine construction on land. Source: Evening Telegraph, 7/29/08 [READ ARTICLE]
[See AEI Special Report: Wind Turbine Noise Impacts]

US Researchers Observe Whale Reactions to Sonar; UK Report Suggests "Significant" Behavioral Responses - As a new UK Navy report suggests that beaked whales made "potentially very significant" behavioral changes in response to mid-frequency active sonar signals, a team of scientists has just completed a pilot study that involved monitoring the detailed behavior of whales during a major Naval exercise. The UK military report details observations of whale activity during Operation Anglo-Saxon 06, a submarine war-games exercise in 2006. Produced for the UK's Defence Science and Technology Laboratory, the study used an array of hydrophones to listen for whale sounds during the war games. Across the course of the exercise, the number of whale recordings dropped from over 200 to less than 50. "Beaked whale species appear to cease vocalizing and foraging for food in the area around active sonar transmissions," said the report. Although the location of Operation Anglo-Saxon 06 has been removed from the report, the pattern of hydrophones shown in one diagram matches that in the US Navy’s AUTEC range in the Bahamas. Meanwhile, the most extenstive field study of behavioral reactions to sonar have just been completed. During the month-long RIMPAC exercises around Hawaii, researchers successfully tagged more than thirty individual marine mammals of four different species. They measured how deep-diving marine mammals feed, interact with one another, dive and respond to sounds in their environment.

Some devices recorded short duration bits of detailed information about how the animals move and the sounds they make and hear. Others provide, and continue to provide, longer-term data on their geographical movements around the Hawaiian Islands. About half the tagged animals were pilot whales. Other species included melon-headed whales, false killer whales and Blainville's beaked whales. "This was the first time that we were ever able to tag these animals around realistic military exercises," said Brandon Southall, director of the ocean acoustics program for NOAA's fisheries division and a co-sponsor of the study. It will likely take months to compile the data from the sensors so the whales' movements can be compared with detailed information on when and where the Navy ships were using sonar. Even then, Southall said, the data won't be conclusive. But it is a starting point, and he expects whale-tracking projects to coincide with Navy exercises in coming years. A related study will take place this month in the Bahamas, involving tagging whales and playing back sounds similar to sonar and orca calls. Sources: Virginian-Pilot, 8/5/08 [READ ARTICLE] NOAA Press Release, 8/5/08 [READ PRESS RELEASE] Nature News, 8/4/08 [READ ARTICLE] NOAA Behavioral Response Study Website (Bahamas) [WEBSITE]
Related: Researchers Seeking Answers About Beaked Whales and Sonar in Bahamas - The second year of a multi-year Controlled Exposure Experiment (CEE) in the Bahamas is gearing up for field work on the Navy's Atlantic Undersea Test and Evaluation Center (AUTEC), which boats a 600 square mile grid of undersea instrumentation, including hydrophones, that allows researchers to track animals with far more precision than normal. But the central research involves attaching suction-cup "D-tags" to beaked and pilot whales; the tags record sound heard by the animal while also tracking their dive patterns in detail. Researchers will then play sounds that simulate naval sonar and orcas (preditors of the whales), and see how the animals respond. Last year's initial field season was hampered by bad weather, and only a few whales managed to be tagged; initial results indicate some avoidance of sonar signals. One of the key beaked whale stranding events involving sonar occured in 2000 in the Bahamas training range, but it is not yet clear what exactly triggered the event. The Navy suggests that a confluence of specific factors, including steep canyons and limited escape routes, were to blame; researchers hope to learn much more in this and future CEE experiements, to help them understand how common severe reactions to sonar may be. Beaked whales are often seen around the Navy’s testing site for mid-frequency sonar in the Bahamas, according to NOAA Fisheries acoustics program director Brandon Southall. “So we know that marine mammals and beaked whales can live where there is sonar,” Southall says. “It is not like a death ray where as soon as they hear it, they swim to the beach and strand.” Editor's note: This article, which appeared without attribution on a divers' website, is one of the most detailed overviews of the current science that I've seen. Source: Divemaster.com, 7/7/08 [READ ARTICLE]

More on Hawaii Stranding: Swimmers Heard Strange Sound Prior to Whale Stranding; NRDC Stays Out of Fray; Navy Releases First Sonar Use Details; Kidney Disease Prime Suspect - News keeps emerging from the recent stranding of a beaked whale at the end of a month-long Naval exercise in Hawaii. The most recent development is preliminary results from a necropsy, which have led researchers to suspect that the whale was suffering from congenital kidney disease. Though sonar impacts are not the prime suspect, two different swimmers reported hearing strange electronic screetches in the waters near where the whale stranded last week, adding to concerns that Naval exercises may disrupt cetacean behavior. Colin Crosby said he and his fellow campers heard an electronic sounding screech when they dove into the water. Crosby said the noise started off soft and kept getting louder until a very loud pitch could be heard both in and out of the water. It then died down a bit and echoed through the water before the sequence started up again. “It was bizarre,” said Crosby. “I can’t really say I’ve heard sonar before, but what else could it be?” He said each sequence lasted about 10 to 15 seconds and occurred in a cycle of about 30 seconds. Carol Harms, a West End resident, was also at the beach that day with a group of friends. She said they heard a reoccurring beeping noise — running on a cycle between 47 and 53 seconds. “It was very, very loud and all of us wanted to get out of the water because of it,” said Harms. Pacific Fleet spokesperson Mark Matsunaga said he could not comment on whether there was sonar use occurring at the time Crosby reported hearing the noise, but he said the Navy is analyzing data on its training exercises using sonar. "Without being there or talking with him, we will not speculate on what Mr. Crosby or his friends may have heard," Matsunaga said. The nearest RIMPAC ship to use mid-frequency active sonar at anytime during the three days leading up to the discovery of the whale was about 28 miles away from the coast, on the northwest side of Molokai, he said. (Ed.note: the swimmers were on the northwest side of the island; the whale stranded along the southern shore) While Matsunaga acknowledged that there is a possibility that the whale’s actions are connected to sonar transmissions, “there is no indication that any Navy activities caused or contributed to that whale stranding itself.” (this would seem to imply that sonar was not in use at the actual time the whale was found near shore). “Mid-frequency active sonar is the most effective means available to detect and locate diesel electric submarines.” Each sonar signal lasts about one or two seconds, he said. “It’s not like you send out one and then immediately another. [You] send a signal, go quiet, and listen for a return.” Local environemntal lawyer Paul Achitoff, an Earthjustice attorney who participated in a successful sonar lawsuit last year, said the evidence "is about as strong as it can be," with a whale known to be susceptible to injury from sonar stranding a day after sonar soundings were heard in the area. “It’s impossible to say conclusively at this point but all the indications are that it was connected,” said Earthjustice attorney Paul Architoff. “If there was ever a circumstance where it appeared that sonar was responsible, this is it.” Strikingly, the NRDC, lead plaintiff on several sonar-related lawsuits, is not leaping into the fray, perhaps because this solitary stranding differs from previous group strandings related to sonar. Zak Smith, an NRDC lawyer, said the group would reserve judgment until the NOAA report was finished. “Until scientists have completed their investigation on the animal, we would not have a comment,” he said. Sources: Molokai Dispatch, 7/7/08 [READ ARTICLE] Molokai Times, 8/1/08 [READ ARTICLE] Maui News, 7/31/08 [READ ARTICLE] Navy Times, 7/31/08 [READ ARTICLE]
Previously:Beaked Whale Stranding at End of Month-long Navy Exercises - As the US Navy approaches the end of the month-long multinational RIMPAC training exercise in waters around Hawaii, a single Cuvier's beaked whale has turned up on a Maui beach. After several hours of near-shore struggle, it was euthenized and taken to Hawaii Pacific University for a necropsy, to attempt to determine the cause of death. Beaked whales have been the most common species associated with sonar-induced strandings, but previous incidents have usually involved several animals at a time. It is unclear how close sonar exercises were to the stranding site, though the Navy initiated aerial surveys of coastlines within ten miles of the Maui site, and did not see any other stranding victims.

Military officials said there was no indication RIMPAC activities were to blame. According to the Navy, crews follow protective measures when using mid-frequency sonar by posting lookouts and reducing or stopping sonar transmissions when marine mammals are nearby (ed note: beaked whales spend very little time at the surface and are therefore very hard to spot even with normal lookout activity). "There's nothing visual on the animal that would lead to something, a man-made type of problem," said Chris Yates, the Assistant Regional Administrator for the National Oceanic Atmospheric Association (NOAA) Fisheries Service; some previous sonar-related strandings included clear bleeding from eyes or ears. "Marine mammals strand all the time for various reasons, and it would really be unfortunate and premature to jump to conclusions about the cause of the stranding when we really don't have any idea," said Yates. Environmentalists, while not jumping to place blame, urged diligent investigation. "This particular type of whale has consistently been associated with stranding related to the Navy's sonar all around the world," said Paul Achitoff, attorney with the Earthjustice office in Hawaii, adding, "So when one happens while the Navy is using its sonar ... it's obviously something that should raise concern among any objective person." Navy spokesman Mark Matsunaga cautioned that "Any statements implicating sonar or RIMPAC activities are premature and speculative." Until the Navy is clear about when and where its sonar was operating on Sunday and Monday, questions will continue. Sources: Honolulu Star-Bulletin, 7/30/08 [READ ARTICLE] Honolulu Advertiser, 7/30/008 [READ ARTICLE] KHLN.COM, 7/29/08 [READ ARTICLE] AP/Navy Times, 7/30/08 [READ ARTICLE]

Polar Bears Studied for Clues About Their Sensitivity to Arctic Energy Development Noise - A new research project is doing basic studies that aim to clarify how and whether polar bears will be disturbed by increasing industrial noise, especially near winter dens. Hubbs-Sea World biologist Ann Bowles has completed initial studies of polar bear hearing, confirming that they are sensitive to low-frequency sounds, though they were unable to create a sound insulation set-up at the San Diego Zoo quiet enough to keep out sounds below 14kHz, a bit lower than the most sensitive humans can hear. The inability to test extreme infrasonic hearing is an important limitation, as large carnivores are often quite sensitive to such frequencies, and industrial noise can also include very low frequencies. Phase two of the research, set to begin this winter, will involve construction of a simulated bear den, in order to reecord the sound levels of machinery that penetrate this naturally silent sanctuary. Among the questions that researchers hope to eventually answer are: What kind of noise might be a problem for the bears? Will noise from human activity bother bears in the open, but not females in their dens? Should there be limits on noise allowed in the vicinity of the bears, and exactly what kind of noise would be a problem? "If you want to mitigate noise, you first have to know what the bear can hear," Bowles said. Source: American Institute of Physics, 7/29/08 [READ PRESS RELEASE]

UK Wind Farm Plan Abandoned; Developer Cites Responsibility to Avoid Noise Problems for Neighbors - Plans for a modest-sized wind farm in rural Wales have been abandoned after one of the developers decided that it would have to be cut in half to meet local noise standards. While energy company E.On had hoped to build a 10 megawatt, 8-turbine wind farm, their analysis showed that only a 5 megawatt project would avoid causing a "noise nuisance" to nearby homes, and they could not justify investing in the smaller project. E.On's head of new business Danny Shaw said: "We certainly didn't take this decision lightly but, as a responsible developer, we simply wouldn't be willing to build a scheme that we thought had the potential to exceed acceptable noise limits." E.On's planned partner, Arts Factory, hopes to proceed with the smaller project. Arts Factory chief executive Elwyn James said, "We're disappointed obviously, although we would be just as cautious as E.On about the possibility of causing noise disturbance." Source: BBC News. 7/2/08 [READ ARTICLE]
[See AEI Special Report: Wind Turbine Noise Impacts]

Beaked Whales Strand in New Jersey, Florida; Sonar Considered, but Other Causes Likely - The appearance of beaked whales on beaches always raises concern about possible sonar impacts, since these deep-diving whales are the family that is apparently most sensitive to mid-frequency active sonar. Over the past couple of weeks, two beaked whales stranded, one dead near Atlantic City, one alive in Florida. The Florida whale has been diagnosed with meningitis, along with infections in multiple organs and a heavy parastic infection in its liver. The whale was too ill to return to the sea; it was euthanized after Navy scientists conducted hearing tests, which have rarely been possible with beaked whales. The Atlantic City whale underwent a necropsy; initial results did not show any clear cause of death or weakness. The Navy has said that there has been no active sonar activity within a hundred miles of Atlantic City since a major exercise ended in early June; while this does not preclude the possibility that the whale was injured while escaping sonar signals, the single animal does not match earlier incidents that involved multiple animals or species. A beaked whale that stranded in the same area in December had an inner ear infection, which could have contributed to its stranding. While ongoing research and closer public scrutiny are offering a clearer sense of the ways that sonar affects beaked whales (especially triggering dangerous/injurious fleeing behavior), it is also important to remember that not every dead whale is a victim of sonar impacts. Sources: CBS4.com, 6/25/08 [READ ARTICLE] Press of Atlantic City, 6/29/08 [READ ARTICLE]

Navy Releases First EIS for Sonar Training; Hawaii Range Targeted for Continued Sonar Training, Using Current Safety Procedures - The US Navy has released its first completed Environmental Impact Statement examining active sonar training activities, this one covering training in waters around Hawaii, and proposing to continue current Navy operating procedures, rather than adopting more stringent safety measures. Eleven other regional training ranges are receiving similar scrutiny, with draft EISs released for two, and the final decisions planned for all by the end of 2009. After a catastrophic stranding of beaked whales in the Bahamas in 2000, the Navy began working toward complying with NEPA (which requires analysis of activities that may cause harm to wildlife); after rebuffing discussions with NRDC in 2004 about the effects of mid-frequency sonar (which led to a lawsuit in 2005, not yet heard in court), the Navy began applying for Incidental Harassment permits in 2006, and began the EIS process for all of its training ranges in 2007, receiving a 2-year presidential exemption from NEPA to allow them to complete the EISs without being subject to lawsuits in the meantime. The Hawaii EIS is consistent with the other DEISs already released, proposing to continue sonar training at levels similar to current activity, with safety procedures similar to those the Navy has been using in recent years. The Navy is hoping that its detailed analysis of the effects of sonar on marine creatures will provide a legally defensible foundation for their safety measures, which include shutting down the system when whales are within 200 meters. Environmental advocates, and the states of Hawaii and California, have pushed for much larger safety zones and setting specific biologically-rich areas off-limits to sonar use; two Federal District court rulings have ruled against the Navy, and we can expect that the final EISs will face challenges as well. With some of the procedural challenges now off the table (earlier challenges focused on lack of NEPA and MMPA compliance, and the related lack of legal/scientific justification for the Navy's current safety measures), it will be interesting to see how far the courts decide to wade into the more strictly scientific arguments about the validity of the Navy's analysis of current data and of the risk to wildlife. Sources: Honolulu Advertiser, 6/27/08 [READ ARTICLE] Hawaii Reporter, 6/26/08 [READ ARTICLE] AP, 6/26/08 [READ ARTICLE]
Related: NOAA Accepting Comments on 5-year IHA permit for Hawaii Range Complex - In consort with the finalization of its EIS, the Navy has applied for Incidental Harassment Authorization permits from NOAA, as required under the MMPA. The IHAs are issued with required mitigation measures meant to protect whales from harm; as proposed, the mitigations closely follow the Navy's current 29 Protective Measures, including power-downs when whales are within 1000 yards and shutdowns when whales are within 200 yards. Additional measures include shutting down sonar operations if any "unusual stranding event" occurs, as well as designated "humpback cautionary areas" where sonar training is to be largely avoided (though allowed with approval of upper level commanders). Public comments will be accepted through July 23. Source: Maui Weekly, 7/3/08 [READ ARTICLE] [WEBPAGE TO DOWNLOAD IHA PROPOSAL]

Acoustics '08 Conference to Include Animal Bioacoustics Focus - Acoustics researchers gather in Paris this week to share new research results, and many presentations will focus on animal bioacoustics, or the use of sound by animals and the effects of human noise on animals. Papers will include new studies about the effects of human noise in the ocean (including sonar and boats) on marine mammals, research showing how birds change their tunes in noisy settings, and detailed studies of the sounds made by bats, frogs, hyenas, and tigers. Souce: Acoustical Society of America Press Release (with email contacts for researchers), 6/25/08 [READ PRESS RELEASE]

Supreme Court to Hear Sonar Appeal in Fall Term - The Supreme Court agreed to hear the Navy's appeal of California court rulings that have imposed additional safety measures on Navy sonar training. At issue is whether the judge – and a panel of the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals, which upheld the judge's ruling – overstepped their authority by enforcing environmental regulations at the expense of national defense training in wartime. US environmental regulations are "not a suicide pact," the Bush administration argued in its brief urging the high court to take up the case. The Navy has insisted that its own mitigation measures are sufficient, and in the California training planning, rejected additional safety measures requested by the California Coastal Commission; up til now, the Navy has not conducted full NEPA-compliance (Environmental Impact Statements), though this process has begun and will govern future training. Still, the current court case rides on the lack of formal NEPA and Endangered Species Act compliance, as the Navy received exemptions from both in the name of national security (the lower courts rejected one of these exemptions, a decision also at issue with the Supreme Court). "The district court determined, after an exhaustive review of thousands of pages of evidence, that there was a 'near certainty' that the [training] exercises would cause widespread, irreparable harm to the environment and that the Navy's planned mitigation was 'woefully inadequate,' " wrote Los Angeles lawyer Richard Kendall in his brief on behalf of the NRDC. The judge further found, Mr. Kendall wrote, that the (court-ordered measures) would be a minimal imposition on the Navy's planned training. The justices themselves will not resolve the debate over the extent of the harm. Rather, as presented to the Supreme Court, the case is a dispute over the limits of executive branch authority and the extent to which the courts should defer to military judgments. Sources: Christian Science Monitor, 6/24/08 [READ ARTICLE] LA Times, 6/24/08 [READ ARTICLE] New York Times, 6/24/08 [READ ARTICLE] Reuters, 6/24/05 [READ ARTICLE]

Round Britain Powerboat Race to Slow Down for Marine Mammals - Concerns about noise and collisions have forced the organisers of the Round Britain Powerboat Race to revise parts of the course after the Marine Conservation Society (MCS) raised concerns about the safety of marine wildlife along the course. Race organizers have re-routed part of the course to avoid areas frequented by basking sharks, and to impose strict speed limits as the participants move out of Inverness where many dolphins live. Dr Jean-Luc Solandt, MCS Biodiversity Policy Officer, said "We urge the race boat pilots to be highly vigilant along the route and slow right down in the vicinity of any marine wildlife." Racers will receive daily information briefings to boat pilots regarding known marine wildlife activity in the area, including advisory GPS waypoints to use to avoid marine wildlife. Dr Solandt said: "The last minute approach the organisers have taken is far from ideal. "We feel the conservation and welfare of marine wildlife should have been considered in the race planning a long time ago - if MCS, and other wildlife groups had been consulted sooner we could have done more to help." The ten-day race begins June 21, with about fifty contestants. Near Moray Firth, precautions are being taken to protect dolphins. Director of the race organising committee, Alan Goodwin, said: “We have produced charts with marked boxes and are laying buoys at areas that will be strictly no-go areas for the boats.” Ray Bulman, the race press officer, said the race had been moved 10 miles out to sea while the speed of the boats would remain below 20 knots as they were led to the start point as they leave Inverness. Source: Motorboat and Yachting News, 6/20/08 [READ ARTICLE] Inverness Courier, 6/13/08 [READ ARTICLE]

Cloak of Silence Could Provide Solace from Noise - A team of Spanish scientists have shown off the blueprint for an "acoustic cloak", which could make objects impervious to sound waves. The technology, outlined in the New Journal of Physics, could be used to build sound-proof homes, advanced concert halls or stealth warships. Engineered "sonic crystals" comprised of tiny cylinders would be used to channel any sound around an object, like water flowing around a rock in a stream. Simulations showed that 200 layers of this metamaterial could effectively shield an object from noise. Thinner stacks would shield an object from certain frequencies. The next step is to make and test such a material in the lab to confirm the simulations. The initial modeling work has other reserachers intrigued. "It's not an unrealistic blueprint - it doesn't demand that we do extraordinary things," said Professor John Pendry of Imperial College London, an expert in cloaking. "This is something that can easily be manufactured." Source: BBC, 6/12/08 [READ ARTICLE]

US Navy Continues Campaign to Calm Sonar Fears, Resist New Restrictions; Scientists Question Navy's "Absolute" Threshold of Proof of Harm - The US Navy continued its increasingly adamant defense of its mid-frequency sonar training program this week, with the US Pacific Fleet Commander telling reporters that court-ordered restrictions are making it more difficult to train. Admiral Robert Willard said that one of his strike groups showed “adequate, although degraded” anti-submarine warfare proficiency during recent exercises off California. The fleet certified the group anyway, but noted the ships altered standard techniques and procedures to comply with court rulings. Willard said sailors were learning artificial tactics they wouldn't use in the real world. “Translate that into the Western Pacific or into the Middle East, where quiet diesel-powered submarines exist in large numbers, and we're potentially in trouble,” Willard said. Meanwhile, during a field trip to a Navy destroyer off the coast of Virginia, Jene Nissen, the Navy's environmental acoustics manager, said the Navy was working hard to align their practices with what scientists say is necessary, stressing the lack of any strandings "linked scientifically" to Navy activities during 40 years of presence on the east coast. Some of the scientists on board as experts for the press questioned the Navy's absolute assurance, noting several incidents in which mid-frequency sonar is suspected of causing strandings or agitated reaction among whales, though absolute proof was not found. Nina Young of the Ocean Leadership Consortium (a program that coordinates several agency ocean programs) said the Navy uses uncertain cause of death rulings to downplay possible links between sonar and mammals. "It's unfortunate that the threshold for the Navy seems so absolute, and the burden of proof so high, that it undermines efforts to engage in a productive discussion, she said. Andrew Wright, a marine mammal scientist who has worked for the Marine Mammal Commission and NOAA, said definitive proof of sonar's effect on whales didn't exist until recently. "We've only really known about the problem since 2000, 2002. We don't have long-term information, even on humans," Wright said later. "There's so much uncertainty around this, and it all depends on where you place the burden of proof." Sources: The Virginian-Pilot, 6/16/08 [READ ARTICLE] San Diego Union-Tribune, 6/10/08 [READ ARTICLE]

Baby Beluga Offers Rare Chance to Listen as Language Develops - A beluga whale born recently at the Vancouver Aquarium is beginning to vocalize, and researcher Valeria Velarga says that what is learned can help scientists understand wild belugas' complex vocal repertoire. "The key thing about researching belugas in captivity is to take it as a platform to help us understand what these animals are all about in the wild." It's not about learning to speaking whale, she said. "I would call it a function dictionary. It's not specific meanings, but it's a general function of a particular call," she said. "This call is used for nursing; this call is used for chasing somebody away." Velarga also studied the early calls of another baby beluga, born in 2002; both whales began making bubbling sounds within hours of birth. "The first words are just bubbles, baby bubbling. It's a very general baby chatter that beluga babies make. In general it means, I want to nurse, slow down," said Velarga. Nicknamed "sea canaries," beluga whales use many types of

sounds to communicate, she said, including whistles, pulse trains and loud calls. In the wild, these sounds are key to the Arctic whales' survival, particularly for mothers and babies who need to stay close to one another. Each new sound is learned, she said, and requires practice. A recording of the baby sounds like a train of bubbly pulses. "I think it (is) just discovering sound . . . There (is sometimes no) other obvious function other than just play." Source: Vancouver Sun, 6/13/08 [READ ARTICLE] Video of recent beluga birth [SEE VIDEO]

Sakhalin Scientific Panel Cites Failure to do Noise Monitoring as Required - A scientific panel charged with overseeing environmental safeguards at the controversial Sakhalin-II oil and gas field off the Russian North Pacific coast has criticized project developers for failure to adhere to two key requirements designed to protect the critically endangered Western gray whales in the area. Speed limits for boats are not being observed, and the companies have failed to deploy noise monitoring equipment. In addition, the adequacy of the noise monitoring being planned was criticized by the panel. The critique could jeopardize future funding for the project, as key banks have said that compliance with all of the Grey Whale Advisory Panel's reasonable recommendations is a condition of financing, and the developers committed to doing so in their Health, Safety, Environment & Social Action Plan. Finalization is close on $5 billion loan from the Japan Bank for International Cooperation. Source: Dow Jones, 6/13/08 [READ ARTICLE]

UK Strandings Lead to Murky Picture of Naval Activity - A week after the UK's worst dolphin stranding since 1981, reports from locals and the UK Navy are conflicting. Two weeks of live-fire exercises were wrapping up in the area over last weekend, with the Navy first claiming to have concluded those exercises Sunday afternoon, then saying that in fact the last live-fire took place far offshore on Friday, with a mid-frequency submarine-hunting sonar used on Thursday. However, local Falmouth Coast Guard personnel report heavy Naval activity through Sunday afternoon in Falmouth Bay. And, Nick Tomlinson, a local fisherman working 12 miles offshore, experienced a most dramatic blasts than he has felt in the 35 years he has been working the waters off the Cornish coast. "I'm used to the big military guns going off but this was something different - bang, bang, bang, very close, very loud. The vibrations went through the boat and up through my backbone. The whole boat was shuddering." (Press reports are not clear on whether Tomlinson heard this on Sunday or Monday.) On Monday, dolphins were found trapped in two different estuary rivers, and milling unusually close to shore near Falmouth. Dead dolphins had mud in their lungs and stomachs, likely taken on while floundering in low estuary tides. The British Divers Marine Life Rescue (BDMLR), which coordinated the rescue of several dolphins, said they received reports from the public that an explosion took place at sea over the weekend. Such an explosion could have panicked the dolphins - who were away from their natural deep water habitat - and sent them up the river to shallow waters. "It does not mean that the Navy is to blame, but it would be naive of us to ignore the activity that has been going on," said the BDMLR.

BDMLR chairman Alan Knight, said: "The fact that they have beached in four separate sites is very unusual. It indicates to me that there is some kind of disturbance." For the first week, statements from the Royal Navy neglected to mention whether mid-frequency sonar use during the exercises; a spokeman admitted to a reporter who asked about it that she was not sure and would have to check. Navy statements have said only that no low-frequency sonar was in use, and that a short-range high-frequency mapping sonar was being used on Sunday and Monday 12 miles offshore; the mapping sonar is unlikely to have caused a panic that far away, as high-frequency sound dissipates at short range. A week later, the UK Navy admitted that a "dipping" version of the mid-frequency sonar (dangled from a helicopter) had been used on the Thursday before the strandings, spurring speculation that the dolphins may have entered Falmouth Bay at that point, and been disoriented for several days. It seems more likely that, whether chased into the bay by the dipping sonar or not, some dramatic event on Sunday or Monday morning was more directly to blame, sending the dolphins into two estuaries where they floundered and died. Two alternatives to the idea that noise chased them upstream have become less likely as more information appears: no orcas were seen in they bay, making it unlikely a pod could have chased the dolphins in three directions at once, and while there were many fish feeding on unusually large algae blooms in the area, most dead dolphins had no fish in their stomachs, suggesting they were not feeding when they were in the estuaries. Sources: Telegraph, 6/15/08 [READ ARTICLE] The Guardian, 6/14/08 [READ ARTICLE] London Times, 6/12/08 [READ ARTICLE] Telegraph, 6/10/08 [READ ARTICLE] Daily Mail, 6/11/08 [READ ARTICLE]
Related?: UK Navy Tests Airgun Alternative to Explosions for Shock Trials - In the wake of the Falmouth Bay strandings, the UK Navy has announced that it has been testing a new approach to "shock trials," meant to be less dangerous for marine life. Shock trials test the resilience of ships to mines and torpedoes, typically accomplished done by setting off large explosions near the ships. The new technique uses airguns, which release blasts of compressed air, in place of explosives. A Ministry of Defense spokesman said that the resulting pressure waves are less intense, adding that "the new approach reduces the risks to the environment as the only by-product is hot air bubbles." This statement neglects to mention that another by-product is intense noise, and that, to fulfill its purpose in testing the resilience of ships, there is also a strong pressure wave created. Likely the airgun pulse is less sudden (i.e., the sound wave has a longer rise time), which may help reduce hearing-related damage, but it, like all airguns, will create a startling sound at close range (up to a km or so), and be audible for tens of kilometers at least. The brief press mention of this new "dolphin-friendly weapon" did not clarify whether the system was being used around Falmouth Bay at the time of the strandings; local reports indicate unusual explosive sounds were heard. Source: London Sunday Mirror, 6/15/08 [READ ARTICLE]

America's National Parks: the Quietest and the Most Acoustically at Risk - The Coalition of National Park Service Retirees (CNPSR) have put together a list of the five national parks in the lower 48 states where visitors can still find genuine peace, quiet, and natural sounds, as well as highlighting five parks that are most at risk in the face of growing noise pollution. CNPSR Executive Council Member Abby Miller, the former NPS deputy associate director for Natural Resources and Stewardship, said: “We have put together some tips on a variety of parks to go to enjoy quiet or the sounds of nature, as well as some places you may need to avoid if what you are looking for is peace and quiet. While our park selections are naturally subjective, they are based on the thousands of years of experiences of CNPSR members who are among those who know best of all. We hope that park visitors will appreciate and pay attention to the preservation of natural sound – an important aspect of our national treasures.” The places to go for true peace and quiet: Great Basin National Park (Nevada), Isle Royale National Park (Michigan), North Cascades National Park (Washington State), Big Hole National Battlefield (Montana), and Muir Woods National Monument (California). Parks at risk due to increasing noise nearby include Minute Man National Historical Park (Massachusetts), Mojave National Preserve (California), Mt. Rushmore National Park (South Dakota), Hawaii Volcanoes National Park (Hawaii), and Everglades National Park (Florida). The Grand Canyon and Yellowstone were omitted from the latter list, since their noise woes, due to airplanes and snowmobiles respectively, are well known. Source: CNPSR Press Release/TravelVideo, 6/10/08; includes details on each park listed [READ PRESS RELEASE]

Ships to Avoid 1000 Square Mile Area to Protect Right Whales - Ships have been asked to avoid a thousand-square-mile area off the Nova Scotia coast, in order to reduce the risks of ship strikes killing more critically endangered Right whales. The closure is voluntary, and standard ship-tracking communication systems are being used to monitor compliance. On the first day of its implementation, June 1, twenty ships passed through the area, a major New York to Halifax shipping route, with sixteen modifying their courses to stay out of the new whale protection zone. It appears that the whales have grown accustomed to the ship noise, and do not take measures to move away; noise directly in front of a ship is also lower, due to sound shadowing by the ship's hull. “It’s like living beside a train track,” says biologist Angelia Vanderlaan. “After awhile, you stop hearing the trains go by.” Vanderlaan says changes they’ve proposed have been supported and indeed embraced by Canadian companies, such as Irving Oil. But the same is not true in the United States. Efforts by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration to impose seasonal speed restrictions (to 10 knots an hours) in areas frequented by whales have been stonewalled by the White House, she says. The rule has been awaiting clearance at the White House Office of Information and Regulatory Affairs since February 2007. There is also a proposal to create an area to be avoided in the Great South Channel, near Cape Cod. “The World Shipping Council is against restrictions and people are fighting it tooth and nail,” she says. “But if a whale is hit at a slower speed, they’re more likely to survive the injury.” Source: Science Daily, 6/6/08 [READ ARTICLE]

Whale Fins Inspire Quieter, More Efficient Fans and Wind Turbines - Humpback whales are the inspiration for a new approach to blade design being used in fans and tested for wind turbines. The bumps along the edge of the whales' long fins had long been considered an anatomical anomaly, but a biology professor in Pennsylvania has shown that they channel water across the surface of the fin in ways that create more maneuverability and power. Dr. Frank Fish has formed WhalePower to develop new industrial designs based on this discovery; the results are a sharp break from previous attempts to make fan and turbine blade edges as smooth as possible.

The first commercial result are factory fans up to 24 feet in diameter, which use 20 percent less energy and are significantly quieter than previous designs, while distributing the air more evenly. WhalePower is also developing wind turbine blades based on the new design; the first field trials are underway in Canada, and Fish says, "We can actually get more power out of the wind." Source: Christian Science Monitor, 5/16/08 [READ ARTICLE]

This Ain't No Disco - David Byrne is behind a public sound art project set to open this summer in New York's Battery Maritime Building, an old waterfront structure. Keyboards, to be played by passers-by, will blow air through exposed pipes, creating deep flute-like sounds, trigger vibrations in steel girders so that they hum, and strike metal columns to ring with gong-like sounds. “It sounds really simple, but it’s kind of a lot of fun,” said Byrne, who started the Talking Heads. “It’s more than fun — it’s awe-inspiring.” Byrne hopes his installation will infuse the landmarked Battery Maritime Building with some musical fun. People of all ages and levels of musical ability can participate with equal success, he said. Whether the building’s natural sounds count as music “depends on your definition of music,” said Byrne, who partnered with Creative Time for the project. The notes range in pitch and volume, at the will of whoever sits down at the keyboard. Each key will act on a different part of the building, producing a different sound, all naturally, without microphones or speakers. “It’s not tuned perfectly — you can’t sit down to play Bach,” Byrne said. The Battery Maritime Building’s age and character makes the music possible. The building’s exposed metal pipes and girders are what make the installation work. “If they’re all sheetrocked, if they’re made pristine, there’s nothing left to make a sound with,” Byrne said. Source: Downtown Express, May 16, 2008 [READ ARTICLE] New York Times, 5/30, 2008 Includes video of building sounds [READ ARTICLE]

Towns Seek Setbacks for Wind Turbines to Protect Residents from Noise, Companies Concerned - Across the eastern and central United States and Canada, small towns are writing ordinances to govern wind farm development, grappling with uncertainty about reasonable buffer zones to assure that residents will not be disturbed by turbine noise. In recent months, stories about several specific wind farms that have caused noise complaints have circulated more widely, raising local concerns elsewhere about the common practice of using 1000- to 1500-foot setbacks (with Mars Hill in Maine and Allegheny Ridge in Pennsylvania being the most commonly cited). The research and testimony of two doctors, one in New York and one in Italy, and several acoustics consultants, all of whom advocate for much larger buffers between large turbines and residences, are beginning to influence local towns to adopt more stringent ordinances, which energy companies say will severely limit their abilty to find suitable sites for wind farms. The Lyme (NY) Town Counil recently required that turbines remain 4500 feet from Lake Ontario, a local river and two villages. The Logan Township (PA) Board of Supervisors tabled a scheduled vote on a new ordinance that would establish a 2500 setback from neighboring property lines, deciding they need to gather more information, especially about noise impacts. "You guys aren't going to pick up [the wind turbines] and move them," Supervisor Ed Frontino said. Supervisors Chairman Frank Meloy said he visited Todd and Jill Stull in Juniata Township, who recently sued the company that built turbines that created much more noise than promised. He and other township officials toured that farm last week with Gamesa representatives. "I would not want to live with that noise day in and day out," Meloy said. Meanwhile, the Chatham-Kent (Ontario) Council discussed proposals from Councilor Jim Brown to establish mandatory setbacks of up to 1.5km based on commercial or residential nature of the location. "I don't believe we have formal enough zoning in place - we have to have something firm," said Brown. "We should have these setbacks in place before we go any further." Establishing a clear scientific, and thus legally defensible, basis for any given setback is very difficult, leading Brown's fellow councilors to call for more information. And in West Providence (PA), the Township instituted an ordinance that requires a 2500 foot setback from any neighboring residence, and 2000 feet from property lines. The accompanying noise limits are relatively modest, at 45dB; Calumet County (WI) recently adopted a much more stringent noise limit [SEE RELATED STORY] Sources: Watertown Daily Times, 5/7/08 [READ ARTICLE] Altoona Mirror, 5/9/08 [READ ARTICLE] Chatham Daily News, 5/6/08 [READ ARTICLE] West Providence Wind Ordinance, 4/7/08 [READ EXCERPT]
[See AEI Special Report: Wind Turbine Noise Impacts]

John Luther Adams Feature in The New Yorker - In a departure from our normal definition of "news" here, I want to point you to a fantastic profile of composer John Luther Adams in this week's New Yorker. The lengthy piece gives John plenty of space to talk about his uniquely rooted music, as well as travel with him into the Alaskan landscape his music so movingly evokes. It begins with the writer's experience in a museum installation of JLA's, which creates a real-time musical evocation of seasonal, diurnal, earthquake, and northern lights activity in Fairbanks. During a walk on Lake Louise, the author watches Adams: "The lake was covered with ice four feet thick, and, after spending the night at a local lodge, we went for a walk. The sun was burning faintly through the mist above. Periodically, a curtain of snow descended and the shores and islands of the lake disappeared from view. I noticed that Adams was listening closely to this seemingly featureless expanse, and kept pulling information from it: the fluttering of a flock of snow buntings, the low whistle of wind through a stand of gaunt spruce, the sinister whine of a pair of snowmobiles. He also noted the curiously musical noises that our feet were making. Tapping the crust of snow atop the ice, under which the wind had carved little tunnels, he compared the sounds to those of xylophones or marimbas." Source: The New Yorker, 5/12/08 [READ ARTICLE]

SongFinder Makes High-pitched Bird Calls Audible Again - Help is at hand for aging birders who have lost the ability to hear the higher-pitched bird calls they long enjoyed. A new device co-developed by renowned environmental sound recordist Lang Elliott transposes the now-inaudible bird calls and songs down into lower pitches, making them once again audible. The unit, dubbed the SongFinder, is designed to be worn in the field, and uses headphones and stereo imaging to allow birders to track birds in three dimensions, just as they are used to. Source: NatureSound website [WEBSITE]

90 Degrees South - New York-based sound artist Andrea Polli, whose work often centers around natural systems, is in Antarctica for much of December and January. She is posting regularly, with short notes and many sound files: some field recordings, many intereviews with scientists about their work, and about listening. The sound files take a little while to load, but it's worth the patience (let the page load while you read the posts or do something else); once loaded, you can click to listen on the page, or download the MP3s to listen at your leisure. [WEBSITE]

Listening to Birds - A two-year anthropological study based at the University of Aberdeen (Scotland) is exploring the relationships that people have with bird songs and calls. The project's blog is off to a dynamic start, with many interesting posts, and they are actively soliciting contributions from anyone, worldwide. [WEBSITE] [BLOG]