TRENTON, N.J. — July 15, 2014 — Marine life may be threatened by study to assess sea level rise due to climate change.
A controversial plan, to create a 3-D map of ocean floor sediments from millions of years ago using seismic blasts, is set to begin soon off the Jersey shore–despite vigorous protests from the local fishing industry, environmental activists, and the New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (DEP).
The testing will consist of high-energy blasts from airgun arrays mounted on a research ship, just 15 miles off Barnegat Inlet. The blasts will produce sound levels of up to 253 decibels fired every 5 seconds, 24 hours a day, according to the Recreational Fishing Alliance (RFA).
Studying sediment layers as sea levels varied over the past 60 million years may help scientists predict the effect of future rising seas caused by climate change. The study is expected to last 30 days and cover 230 square miles of ocean.
The RFA notes that a “recent study in the Journal of Acoustical Society of America has confirmed that seismic airguns used in similar underwater oil exploration efforts have damaged the auditory organs of fish.”
Read the full story at the Science Recorder