On June 8, 2022, the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary announced the successful use of an uncrewed aerial vehicle (UAV, or drone), to deploy digital acoustic tags on 14 sei whales in the Northeast Atlantic. This marked a major innovation in [...]

Updated October 16, 2020 Introduction The novel coronavirus (COVID-19) has had a major impact on society around the globe. Shelter-in-place orders and non-essential travel bans have had significant effects at all levels, from local to national economies. There have been unexpected, wide-ranging, trickle-down effects from these changes, including shifts in local and regional underwater noise [...]

Decadal Decreases in the Frequency (Pitch) of Baleen Whale Vocalizations Blue whales are the largest living mammal species. Their long, slender bodies can reach lengths of 30.5 m (100 ft) and weigh up to 160 tons. Blue whales produce stereotyped calls, described as pulses, grunts, groans, and moans, which are typically in the 15-40 [...]

Earthquakes and other geologic events produce acoustic signals that can be measured and monitored on land and underwater. Seismic energy from submarine earthquakes is converted into acoustic energy at the seafloor-water boundary.  A Tertiary wave (or T-wave) is an acoustic signal associated with earthquakes. T-waves propagate efficiently in the ocean compared to seismic waves through [...]

Measuring and mitigating the potential impacts of vessel noise on endangered killer whales Underwater sound associated with commercial vessel traffic is one, recognized threat to the southern resident population of killer whales. Image credit: NOAA, NWFSC. Southern resident killer whales (SRKW) are an endangered marine mammal population found off the Pacific coasts of [...]

An engineer prepares to deploy a single airgun. The airgun will be suspended about 8 m below the water surface from the white float seen at the bottom of the image. Image courtesy of the National Science Foundation. An airgun is a tool used to examine layers of the seafloor and study the Earth’s [...]

Using Underwater Acoustics to Detect and Measure Global Ocean Methane Flux Close up imagery of methane hydrate. Scientists study methane hydrates as a potential natural gas source and for its potential role in releasing methane to the atmosphere during climate change events. Image courtesy of the NOAA Office of Ocean Exploration and Research. [...]

An international team of experts have partnered on a “bold” conservation plan (VaquitaCPR; https://www.vaquitacpr.org) to prevent the most endangered marine mammal in the world, the vaquita porpoise (Phocoena sinus), from going extinct. The vaquita is only found in the upper portion of Mexico’s Gulf of California. Its population was estimated at 567 individuals in 1997, [...]