Seismic crustal studies of our oceans are an invasive and disruptive practice that impact a variety of marine species through blasts of sound. Listen to what a blast sounds like below. One can imagine the shear impacts this would have on your life if you heard this once every 10 seconds, 24 hours a day, for 6 months.
The sound of the blast from the seismic survey vehicle … Transkei Coast ….. Shell Boycott.. starting 1st December pic.twitter.com/qxkst4iS6H
— Christopher JP Russell (@CheSeraSara) December 2, 2021
Last year however researchers found a way to use fin whale songs to do very similar work through picking up their calls on hydrophones on the sea floor. The ocean has so many natural non invasive tools we can utilize to explore the world us, all we just need to do is look around, or in this case listen. Check out my current affairs video I created on this topic.
Referenced Paper
[1] Kuna, V. M., & Nábělek, J. L. (2021). Seismic crustal imaging using fin whale songs. Science, 371(6530), 731-735.
Further Resources to Explore
[2] Nowacek, D. P. (2015). Seismic surveys and marine wildlife; ideas for managing real and perceived impacts. SEG Technical Program Expanded Abstracts, 34, 4949-4951. https://doi.org/10.1190/segam2015-6026251.1
[3] Carroll, A. G., Przeslawski, R., Duncan, A., Gunning, M., & Bruce, B. (2017). A critical review of the potential impacts of marine seismic surveys on fish & invertebrates.Marine Pollution Bulletin, 114(1), 9-24. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.marpolbul.2016.11.038
[4] Kavanagh, A. S., Nykänen, M., Hunt, W., Richardson, N., & Jessopp, M. J. (2019). Seismic surveys reduce cetacean sightings across a large marine ecosystem.Scientific Reports, 9(1), 19164-10. https://doi.org/10.1038/s41598-019-55500-4