PROJECT CS-1082, INFORMATION AND TECHNOLOGY TOOLS FOR ASSESSMENT AND PREDICTION OF THE POTENTIAL EFFECTS OF MILITARY NOISE ON MARINE MAMMALS

• Main Author: David Helweg
• Format: Text
• Language: unknown
• Published: 2002
• Subjects: baleen whale
• Online Access: http://oaspub.epa.gov/eims/eimsapi.dispdetail?deid=20168

CS-1082 was a FY98 New Start. Our broad objective is to transition information about effects of DoD sound types on marine mammal auditory anatomy and acoustic ecology to predictive models and mitigation tools. Currently, the DoD lacks scientifically defensible information concerning the safe operation of many of their training and testing systems in the presence of marine mammals. There is only very little direct information about what sound frequency-intensity combinations may damage the hearing of marine mammals. This effort responds directly to the DoD capability to comply with the National Environmental Policy Act requirements and will contribute directly to answering the National Research Council's Research Needs related to the effect of low-frequency sound on marine mammals (1994). This project consists of three inter-related tasks. Task 1 consists of otopathological analyses of marine mammal ears. Task 2 consists of otopathological analyses of baleen whale ears, the results of which will motivate development of a biomimetic model of baleen whale hearing and responsiveness to DoD sound types. Task 3 utilizes predictions about sensitivity generated in Task 2, plus statistical sampling models and acoustical classification algorithms, to develop a capability to automate the use of the U.S. Navy's Integrated Undersea Surveillance System (IUSS) for mapping the distribution of whales.