LFA/Ocean Environment Campaign The Mission: To lessen the noise pollution of the seas from low-frequency military sonars and other sources. Issue Overview: The seas and their inhabitants are subjected to many stresses from man's activities. One which is little known but potentially destructive is noise pollution, which can disrupt the lives of or physically harm sea animals. The U.S. Navy, NATO, and other navies are blasting the oceans with enormous sound pressures as part of systems designed to detect enemy submarines. We're trying to end this assault, and recommending alternate approaches. Issue Facts: As humpback whales are a federally-protected endangered species, it's not legal to blast them with federal funds if such blasting is considered likely to harm them. The U.S. Navy applied for permits to test low-power LFA-type sonar on humpback whales in Hawaiian waters in 1998. The results of these tests,even though thousands of times less intense than the real LFA arrays, would be used in an impact assessment for LFA arrays. In fact, incredibly, these tests would be studied instead of the actual LFA arrays. This was, to quote GPF President Sue White, "like watching a hand grenade to predict the impact of a nuke". This was no more than lip-service to U.S. law, and we held that an EIS should be required of the actual sonar arrays, not some toned-down boombox. On Feb 23, 1998, EarthJustice Legal Defense Fund filed a motion for Temporary Restraining Order against these tests on behalf of Ocean Mammal Institute, Greenpeace Foundation, Earth island Institute, Animal Welfare Institute, and Earthtrust. This was not granted, and the sonar tests were begun off the "big isle" of Hawaii on 2/25/98. Independent protesters, and Ben White of Animal Welfare Institute, entered the water to prevent the tests; since due to possible danger to humans the test protocols allowed no humans in the water. These protests were somewhat successful at halting the tests temporarily and very successful at publicizing them, but whales were targeted with sound. Just what these whales were supposed to do to indicate their distress was unclear; but many left the area and now - a year later - they seem to still be avoiding the area. A number of unusual whale behaviors, such as calf abandonments, were reported by independent researchers. A scientific article was reported in the March 5, 1998 NATURE of a previously unheard-of mass stranding of 12 Cuvier's beaked whales in the Mediterranean during a NATO LFA test in the area. The Nature article attributed these whale deaths unambiguously to the LFA tests... and made many people wonder what mortalities might be occurring unseen. However, on March 9 1998, the legal challenge was rejected. The judge ruled that under NEPA an EIS was not required; only an Environmental Assessment. And apparently, the scaled-down tests were to be allowed as the basis for an environmental assessment for the LFA military arrays which they did not even resemble. Although the science of sound-pressure-levels is difficult for laypeople to grasp, leading some people to worry unnecessarily about whales being liquified; the well-paid scientists of the LFA tests cannot be so easily excused for their flat assurances that the sounds would not be harmful; or indeed for their participation in tests designed to circumvent the EIS process for the real sonar arrays. Many biologically-vital stimuli exist at the absolute threshold of detection; and this is certainly true of cetaceans. The Hawaii LFA tests were a whitewash of a destructive practice which is in use today, causing unknown impact on sea life. Detailed Background: Sonar has been used for millions of years by fish and dolphins, and is obviously not an inherently destructive technology. It is simply a means of seeing with sound waves instead of light waves; and it is particularly well-suited to a watery environment where light doesn't penetrate well but sound propagates well. Indeed, the reliance on underwater sound by fish, marine mammals, and other creatures for navigating, finding food, staying with other members of one's species, and reproduction, make underwater sound extremely important to the survival of a range of animals. Scientists have only scratched the surface in their understanding of how sounds are used by well-known animals; and for animals less studied the questions have not yet even been asked. With that being the case, it would seem a wise precaution not to summarily introduce powerful and intrusive new sounds that sea creatures never evolved for. And yet man has done so without a thought to the consequences. The seas are now jammed with human-created sound in many biologically important frequency ranges. As just one example, large ocean vessels produces loud sound in the 5-30hz range which is of most importance for long-distance whale communication. Before the advent of this noise, blue and humpback whales could almost certainly hear the low-frequency sounds of other members of their species more than a thousand miles away; now, when such communication is vitally important to help them find each other and rebuild their populations from years of unrestrained whaling, the distant calls are drowned out. One particularly intrusive form of introduced sound is from low-frequency active sonar arrays (LFA's). They are remarkable both for the intensity of sound they produce, and for the fact that their use has, for the first time, caused human law to take notice of sonic assaults on the sea's deep international waters. As for the difference between active and passive sonar: a shark uses its sound sensors to detect the characteristic sonic signal of a wounded fish and locate its source. This is passive sonar. A dolphin sends out a series of clicks which bounce off the fish and reflect back to the dolphin. This is active sonar. Humans try the same thing more clumsily. In years past, enemy submarines could be reliably detected by the noise they made, and tracked. During the cold war, the ability to track submarines had a stabilizing effect, since it's worrisome not to know where your enemy's subs are. Listening to a sub that produces its own noise is "passive sonar" since the listener doesn't send out any sound but just listens to the sounds of the ship being tracked. It has the additional advantage that the sub doesn't know it is being tracked. As military technology has advanced, "super silent" submarines have been constructed with non-cavitating propulsive blades and quiet engines. This has led to different methods of trying to detect them. The way now coming into wide use is LFA's. They work by blasting the seas with enormously high sound pressures, "lighting up" the deep sea with reflected sound which can be used to detect subs. Unfortunately, the sound levels now being used take a heavy toll on the marine environment, and most such use is classified and unavailable for scientific review. It seems clear that the sound levels are physically harmful to marine mammals, and perhaps deadly to whales, dolphins, and other creatures for which hearing is the most important sense. Greenpeace Foundation has, with other organizations, sued to try forcing environmental impact studies and to draw attention to the problem. We strongly recommend that alternate systems be developed which utilize greater computer processing power to drastically lower the sound levels necessary for imaging; and request a move to "acoustic daylight" technology which analyzes perturbations in the ocean's naturally occurring noises to provide passive underwater imaging. Take Action Contribute to the LFA/Ocean Environment campaign! Contact your congresspeople, and call for hearings before the House and Senate defense committees to study the impacts of the SURTASS LFA program, and take steps to protect the marine environment! And send a messages to the White House to stop blasting the oceans with sound! Contact the White House Office of Environmental Quality Phone 202-456-6224 Fax: 202-456-2710 The USA's oldest and original Greenpeace, proudly unaffiliated with Greenpeace USA