INNOVATION
FEATURE SPONSOR
“WE OUGHT TO CALL OURSELVES HOMO CLAMORANS – NOISEMAKING MAN”
In usual Terry Prachett style, he cleverly makes his point. When we build new man-made structures such as bridges, wind farms, and harbours, we make a lot of clamour pounding and digging our way into the sub-sea sediment.
UNDERWATER NOISE
Underwater noise travels four times faster and up to 100 times further than in open air. This noise can cause huge disruption to marine mammals which rely heavily on sound to navigate and detect prey. Innovative tools exist to measure both the noise which is disturbing the animals and detect the vocalisations made by the animals themselves, allowing mitigation and monitoring of the marine mammals in the area of noisy working.
THE POWER OF NOISE Mammals exposed to increased noise levels ultimately have increased levels of stress. This stress can cause disorientation, erratic behaviour, avoidance of food and migration routes, disruption of breeding and can even lead to death. Acoustic noise can range from very quiet and persistent noise to exceptionally loud. The latter has been known to cause permanent hearing damage or erratic behaviour that could lead to death.
We’ve seen recent evidence of this in the news lately. The International Whaling Commission’s September findings on the 2008 stranding of 100 melon-headed whales in Madagascar concluded that loud sonar ‘pings’ was the most likely trigger for their behaviour. Another example may be seen in the case of the Blainville’s beaked whales in the Bahamas. When exposed to mid- frequency active military sonar the whales appeared to display erratic behaviour leading to potential decompression sickness (or the bends), which subsequently could result in stranding.
MITIGATING THE IMPACT Mitigating the impact of anthropogenic activities on the marine environment requires a method of mammal detection. To help with this, SMRU Marine Limited, a global leader in marine mammal consultancy, which is a wholly owned subsidiary of the University of St Andrews, Scotland, provides advice on the acoustic biology, hearing capabilities and behaviour of marine mammals. Additionally, advice can be given on the
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The Marine Directive’s Descriptor 11 aims to ensure the introduction of energy (including underwater noise) does not have an adverse effect on the ecosystem. Measuring underwater energy for activities such as harbour development, dredging and oil rig decommissioning requires an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA).
As part of the EIA process, noise levels (and marine mammal detections) are recorded before and during construction or decommissioning begins in order to establish a baseline. Once a baseline has been established, SMRU Marine is involved in the data collection analysis to ascertain if there is any impact on the environment. If an impact has been determined, we can then develop appropriate mitigation strategies to reduce the impacts noise would have on the local population.
PASSIVE ACOUSTIC MONTIORING (PAM) TOOLS
In order to monitor for underwater noise, SMRU Marine utilises many different passive acoustic monitoring tools. Its sister company St Andrews Instrumentation Limited (SAIL)
porpoises. The data collected from this device allows for the indication of presence and habitat use.
The SM2M Marine Recorder is another hydrophone device which provides long- term monitoring for anthropogenic and multiple species’ acoustics from 2Hz up to the ultrasonic frequency of 192 kHz. These can be set up to detect for porpoise, dolphins and vessels.
MOVING FORWARD
With the recent results from the latest International Programme on the State of the Ocean review of science on anthropogenic stressors on the ocean, mitigating these stressors will become more of a priority. As such, developers must ensure environmental compliance does not take a backseat to expansion.
SMRU Marine Limited/St Andrews Instrumentation Limited
prediction of the potential impacts of noise from construction, operation and decommissioning activities, not only for individual animals, but also looking at how effects on individuals translate at the population level.
The European Commission’s Marine Strategy Framework Directive aims to achieve a good environmental status (GES) by 2020. GES allows for different uses of the marine resources to be conducted at a sustainable level, guaranteeing their survival for future generations.
manufactures the innovative PAMBuoy™ which is a cutting edge autonomous noise level and marine mammal detection passive acoustic monitoring system. Using real time communications and data reduction, it sends processed data to users, decreasing the risk of data loss, whilst saving time, increasing cost effectiveness and ultimately client confidence.
Another PAM tool is the CPOD, which is a hydrophone device that records bio-sonar or echolocation clicks, of marine mammals – performing best for detecting harbour
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