Science Advisory Report 2010/043
Guidance Related to the Efficacy of Measures Used to Mitigate Potential Impacts of Seismic Sound on Marine Mammals
Summary
- A review was conducted looking at the conditions and extent to which the effectiveness of the operational mitigations set out in the Statement of Canadian Practice with respect to the Mitigation of Seismic Sound in the Marine Environment might vary with environmental conditions.
- A number of specific factors were considered:
- Establishment of a Safety Zone
- Factors Influencing the Ability of Marine Mammal Observers (MMO) to Detect Marine Mammals
- Factors Influencing the Effectiveness of Passive Acoustic Monitoring (PAM) in Detecting Vocalizing Marine Mammals During Standard Operating Conditions of a Seismic Survey
- Factors Affecting the Effectiveness of Ramp Up
- Planning and Design; Objectives and Outcomes
- Suggested areas for further research were also identified:
- Active acoustics
- Building a larger signals library for PAM
- Autonomous PAM on underwater gliders
- Technology and tools to implement and support the use of standardized reporting, data collection and data management for MMOs and modeling.
- More environmentally benign alternatives to air guns.
- Additional research on the behaviour of marine mammals after ramp-up or shutdown is needed in order to verify that these measures effectively work (i.e., that mammals leave an area).
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