Sonar Effect On Marine Mammals

Some individuals have an unparalleled degree of respect towards nature, specifically the ocean. However, these people are highly outnumbered and our oceans continue to be polluted by the human species. When we think of pollution in the ocean, we think of plastic or oil but there is one pollutant that remains unseen. Sound. Since SONAR has been used for military purposes by the U.S Navy, there have been a pattern of stranded, or beached, marine mammals. In the last decade alone, a dismaying sequence of marine mammal strandings have occurred in Greece, the Bahamas, Madeira, Viequez, the canary islands, the northwest coast of the U.S. and Hawaii (DR. Marsha Green, 2005). Of course, that data was collected ten years ago. Today, harmful sonar still

The Ocean Mammal Institute had done multiple studies on the affect SONAR has on marine mammals. They found that exposure to high decibels will result in tissue damage. The sound waves are so big and loud that the acoustic resonance in their bodies will deform and damage their soft tissue. The high powered sounds also cause nitrogen bubbles to build up in the marine mammal’s blood vessels. This can lead to a number of psychological issues due to the blocked capillaries in their blood. Another thing to consider is that marine mammals have lungs. The pressure difference in marine mammal’s lungs and gastral-digestive tract and these huge shockwaves cause lacerations and hemorrhaging in the lungs and intestines. So what does the sound do to their ears? Marine mammals use echolocation to navigate and communicate underwater. Animals exposed that are close enough to the source of active SONAR can immediately lose their hearing (Dr. Marsha Green, 2005). Without the ability to hear and with damaged tissue whales and other marine mammals cannot survive. Imagine not being able to feel, hear, or see anything. This is why we have a large number of beached marine mammals. They have no clue where they are going and end up on the beach or they simply just want toescape the painful noise. As Emma Hurley said, “they just don’t like it” (Emma Hurley, 2015). Marine mammals on average have been known to avoid sounds at a range equal to or above 110 to 130 decibels. Military active SONAR can have source levels of 240 decibels (Dr. Marsha Green, 2005). When you are working with SONAR underwater, the volume of a sound doubles for a raise of every three decibels. This helps us realize how significant the jump from 110 dB to 240 dB actually