Assessing the effectiveness of ramp-up during sonar operations using exposure models

Ramp-up procedures are used to mitigate the impact of sound on marine mammals. Sound exposure models combined with observations of marine mammals responding to sound can be used to assess the effectiveness of ramp-up procedures. We found that ramp-up procedures before full-level sonar operations can reduce the risk of hearing threshold shifts...

Disturbance-specific social responses in long-finned pilot whales, Globicephala melas

Social interactions among animals can influence their response to disturbance. We investigated responses of long-finned pilot whales to killer whale sound playbacks and two anthropogenic sources of disturbance: Tagging effort and naval sonar exposure. The acoustic scene and diving behaviour of tagged individuals were recorded along with the...

Controlled sonar exposure experiments on cetaceans in norwegian waters Overview of the 3s-project

High thresholds for avoidance of sonar by free-ranging long-finned pilot whales (Globicephala melas)

The potential effects of exposing marine mammals to military sonar is a current concern. Dose-response relationships are useful for predicting potential environmental impacts of specific operations. To reveal behavioral response thresholds of exposure to sonar, we conducted 18 exposure/control approaches to 6 long-finned pilot whales. Source...

Dose-response relationships for the onset of avoidance of sonar by free-ranging killer whales

Eight experimentally controlled exposures to 1−2 kHz or 6−7 kHz sonar signals were conducted with four killer whale groups. The source level and proximity of the source were increased during each exposure in order to reveal response thresholds. Detailed inspection of movements during each exposure session revealed sustained changes in speed and...

Modeling Effectiveness of Gradual Increases in Source Level to Mitigate Effects of Sonar on Marine Mammals

Ramp-up or soft-start procedures (i.e., gradual increase in the source level) are used to mitigate the effect of sonar sound on marine mammals, although no one to date has tested whether ramp-up procedures are effective at reducing the effect of sound on marine mammals. We investigated the effectiveness of ramp-up procedures in reducing the area...

Killer whale presence in relation to naval sonar activity and prey abundance in northern Norway

In this study, retrospective data on naval sonar activity and prey abundance were correlated with killer whale sightings within a fjord basin in northern Norway. In addition, passive acoustic and visual marine mammal surveys were conducted before, during, and after a specific navy exercise in 2006. Herring abundance was the main factor affecting...

Assessing the effectiveness of ramp-up during sonar operations using exposure models – a killer whale case study. (abstract)

Ramp-up (or soft-start) procedures are commonly used to mitigate the impact of sound on marine mammals. Although this procedure is often adopted as a common-sense approach, studies that quantify the effectiveness of ramp-up are currently lacking. The effectiveness of ramp-up is investigated by modelling the sound exposure of animals caused by a...