Monitoring and impact mitigation during a 4D seismic survey near a population of gray whales off Sakhalin Island, Russia
A 4D seismic survey was conducted in 2010 near the feeding grounds of gray whales off Sakhalin Island, Russia. To minimize disruptions to the whales’ feeding activity and enhance understanding of the potential impacts of seismic surveys on gray whales Eschrichtius robustus, an extensive monitoring a...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:8c535e0bdbf640cc84d8b00c39c8cafb 2023-05-15T18:09:03+02:00 Monitoring and impact mitigation during a 4D seismic survey near a population of gray whales off Sakhalin Island, Russia K Bröker G Gailey J Muir R Racca 2015-09-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00670 https://doaj.org/article/8c535e0bdbf640cc84d8b00c39c8cafb EN eng Inter-Research https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v28/n3/p187-208/ https://doaj.org/toc/1863-5407 https://doaj.org/toc/1613-4796 1863-5407 1613-4796 doi:10.3354/esr00670 https://doaj.org/article/8c535e0bdbf640cc84d8b00c39c8cafb Endangered Species Research, Vol 28, Iss 3, Pp 187-208 (2015) Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 article 2015 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00670 2022-12-31T11:08:16Z A 4D seismic survey was conducted in 2010 near the feeding grounds of gray whales off Sakhalin Island, Russia. To minimize disruptions to the whales’ feeding activity and enhance understanding of the potential impacts of seismic surveys on gray whales Eschrichtius robustus, an extensive monitoring and mitigation plan (MMP) was developed. Typically, mitigation plans involve observers on seismic vessels to monitor for the presence of marine mammals in an exclusion zone so as to prevent physical injury to the animals. Due to the protected status of western gray whales, an additional protection zone based on a behavioural disturbance threshold of exposure of 156 dB re μPa2-s per pulse was applied for whales within their feeding habitat defined by the estimated 95% abundance contour. Real-time radio-transmitting acoustic recorders were deployed along this contour to verify modelled acoustic footprints within the feeding grounds. Shore- and vessel-based observation teams monitored for the presence and activity of whales. A real-time GIS workflow tracking procedure was developed that integrated acoustic and whale positioning data to determine if sound levels at a whales’ position within the feeding area exceeded the behavioural threshold, in which case a shut-down of the seismic source was implemented. Additionally, behaviour and distribution surveys were conducted before, during and after the seismic survey to evaluate the effectiveness of the MMP. No large changes in whale movement, respiration, or distribution patterns were observed during the seismic survey. This could be interpreted to mean that the MMP was effective in reducing the sound exposure and behavioural responses of gray whales to seismic sounds. Article in Journal/Newspaper Sakhalin Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Endangered Species Research 28 3 187 208 |
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Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 |
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Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 K Bröker G Gailey J Muir R Racca Monitoring and impact mitigation during a 4D seismic survey near a population of gray whales off Sakhalin Island, Russia |
topic_facet |
Zoology QL1-991 Botany QK1-989 |
description |
A 4D seismic survey was conducted in 2010 near the feeding grounds of gray whales off Sakhalin Island, Russia. To minimize disruptions to the whales’ feeding activity and enhance understanding of the potential impacts of seismic surveys on gray whales Eschrichtius robustus, an extensive monitoring and mitigation plan (MMP) was developed. Typically, mitigation plans involve observers on seismic vessels to monitor for the presence of marine mammals in an exclusion zone so as to prevent physical injury to the animals. Due to the protected status of western gray whales, an additional protection zone based on a behavioural disturbance threshold of exposure of 156 dB re μPa2-s per pulse was applied for whales within their feeding habitat defined by the estimated 95% abundance contour. Real-time radio-transmitting acoustic recorders were deployed along this contour to verify modelled acoustic footprints within the feeding grounds. Shore- and vessel-based observation teams monitored for the presence and activity of whales. A real-time GIS workflow tracking procedure was developed that integrated acoustic and whale positioning data to determine if sound levels at a whales’ position within the feeding area exceeded the behavioural threshold, in which case a shut-down of the seismic source was implemented. Additionally, behaviour and distribution surveys were conducted before, during and after the seismic survey to evaluate the effectiveness of the MMP. No large changes in whale movement, respiration, or distribution patterns were observed during the seismic survey. This could be interpreted to mean that the MMP was effective in reducing the sound exposure and behavioural responses of gray whales to seismic sounds. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
K Bröker G Gailey J Muir R Racca |
author_facet |
K Bröker G Gailey J Muir R Racca |
author_sort |
K Bröker |
title |
Monitoring and impact mitigation during a 4D seismic survey near a population of gray whales off Sakhalin Island, Russia |
title_short |
Monitoring and impact mitigation during a 4D seismic survey near a population of gray whales off Sakhalin Island, Russia |
title_full |
Monitoring and impact mitigation during a 4D seismic survey near a population of gray whales off Sakhalin Island, Russia |
title_fullStr |
Monitoring and impact mitigation during a 4D seismic survey near a population of gray whales off Sakhalin Island, Russia |
title_full_unstemmed |
Monitoring and impact mitigation during a 4D seismic survey near a population of gray whales off Sakhalin Island, Russia |
title_sort |
monitoring and impact mitigation during a 4d seismic survey near a population of gray whales off sakhalin island, russia |
publisher |
Inter-Research |
publishDate |
2015 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00670 https://doaj.org/article/8c535e0bdbf640cc84d8b00c39c8cafb |
genre |
Sakhalin |
genre_facet |
Sakhalin |
op_source |
Endangered Species Research, Vol 28, Iss 3, Pp 187-208 (2015) |
op_relation |
https://www.int-res.com/abstracts/esr/v28/n3/p187-208/ https://doaj.org/toc/1863-5407 https://doaj.org/toc/1613-4796 1863-5407 1613-4796 doi:10.3354/esr00670 https://doaj.org/article/8c535e0bdbf640cc84d8b00c39c8cafb |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3354/esr00670 |
container_title |
Endangered Species Research |
container_volume |
28 |
container_issue |
3 |
container_start_page |
187 |
op_container_end_page |
208 |
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1766181465951830016 |