The reburial and research project cost twenty-five-milliondollars and took thirteen years to complete. The federal governmentpaid for it. Plans for building on the burial place have beencanceled. The ground is now considered an important historic area.
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The United States Navy has agreed to limit its use of a new sonarsystem that critics say could harm whales and other sea animals. TheNatural Resources Defense Council, an environmental group, led theeffort to restrict the use.
The sonar system is designed to search for submarines that areespecially quiet. It sends loud, low frequency sound waves throughthe water. When the sound waves hit an object, its presence isconfirmed. The sound waves can travel farther than sonar in commonuse today. The noise can be as loud as a rocket launch.
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This sonar system and others that produce sound waves are calledactive sonar. Researchers say there is evidence that all activesonar may threaten sea animals.
Nature magazine recently published findings by British andSpanish researchers. They examined fourteen whales that died on thebeach in the Canary Islands last year. The whales got trapped onland a few hours after the start of international naval exercisesled by Spain. One American ship took part. The exercises involvedthe use of mid-frequency sonar.
The scientists found that ten of the whales had bubbles in theirblood system. They also discovered evidence that major organs hadbled. The researchers say the most likely cause was a form ofdecompression sickness, also called the bends. This can happen todivers when they rise from deep water too quickly. The pressurechange releases bubbles of nitrogen gas into the blood system. Thesebubbles can block passages.
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Traditional thinking is that whales and other ocean mammals areprotected against the bends.
The study leader, Paul Jepsen, says more research is needed tolearn how the whales got sick. But he says he is sure themid-frequency sonar was connected. He says the noise may havefrightened the whales and led them to surface too quickly. Or, hesays, the mid-frequency sonar may have caused the nitrogen bubblesto form in their blood system. Mister Jepsen is a scientist with theLondon Zoological Society.
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United States Navy officials say there has been no evidence thattheir new low-frequency sonar harms ocean animals. They say it willimprove national security. But Navy officials agreed this month tolimit the use to an area off the coast of east Asia. The areaincludes China, Japan, North and South Korea and the Philippines.But it represents only one percent of the area in which the Navy hadfirst received approval to use the sonar.
Under the agreement, the Navy cannot use the sonar within fiftyto one-hundred kilometers of coastlines. It also bars use duringseasonal times when whales travel through the area.
Researchers say the sonar could interfere with whalecommunication. Many whales produce sounds at the same lowfrequencies.
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In August, a federal judge in California had restricted the useof the system, and ordered the negotiation of a final settlement.
All restrictions would be suspended in time of war or increasedthreat.
The National Resources Defense Council says it is extremelypleased with the agreement. And it says it will start aninternational effort to seek similar rules about the use of activesonar around the world.
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Science in the News was written by Nancy Steinbach, Caty Weaverand Cynthia Kirk, who was also our producer. This is Sarah Long.
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And this is Bob Doughty. Join us again next week for more newsabout science, in Special English, on the Voice of America.