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| Low Frequency Active Sonar by Dea on 20 August 2002 @ 06:10 AM LFA Sonar - I have compiled the following information from a variety of sources and feel that the use of LFA Sonar is unacceptable and is nothing short of Bioterrorism in the true sense of the word. LFAS is a new low level frequency sonar system to detect submarines and land forms underwater. Its frequency has been measured to up to approx. 160 decibells and is devastating to marine life. ( Whales, manatees, giant squids, and dolphins around the world are beaching themselves, or showing increasing signs of disorientation and stress.) One must wonder what the affect these massive sonic booms have on ice packs as well. I must add that the conditions under which the use of this detection system was approved by the American Government/Military was very dubious. (Apparently 1 vote out of 10 was all it took). George Bush was aware that it would cause fatalities amongst the cetacean species. The environmental impact tests on LFAS were inconclusive and thin to say the least prior to its approval. Please help make this issue known to the public at large. - Deborah Friedrich EXTRACT 1 'The U.S. Navy is planning on deploying Low Frequency Active (LFA) sonar across 80% of the Earth's oceans. LFA is proven to injure and destroy whales and dolphins. LFA noise is millions of times more intense than the Navy considers safe for human divers and billions of times more intense than levels known to disturb large whales. In March, 2000, during a Mid- range frequency (rather than the Low Frequency bandwidth of LFAS) test in the Bahamas, four different species of whales and dolphins beached themselves suffering from hemorrhaging/bleeding in the ears. A National Marine Fisheries Service and Navy investigation determined the deaths were almost certainly caused by the LFA test. A follow-on study in February 2001, determined that at least one of those whale species no longer existed in the area. Mid-range frequencies are already in use world-wide, and are now proven to be very dangerous in certain circumstances. The LFAS system is even more dangerous, as the sounds will propagate farther and be disabling at a greater distance. Even the Navy acknowledges the danger of LFA. An internal study briefly exposed a 32 year old Navy diver to LFA sonar at a level significantly below what it is designed to operate. The diver had to be hospitalized, and two years later was still being treated with anti-depressant and anti-seizure medications. Whales rely on their sensitive hearing for survival. A whale cannot survive without its hearing. The Navy's attempts to deploy LFA could result in the extermination of whales and dolphins world wide. EXTRACT 2 I worked at the navy experimental diving unit when the LFA studies were done. I know the man that was injured and I believe if it effects the brain in man it will effect any living thing. Alot more study needs done before it is used. Quote from John S. EXTRACT 3 From: NRDC - Natural Resources Defense Council On July 16th, 2002 the Bush administration granted the Navy a permit to harm whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals while using its Low Frequency Active sonar system in as much as 80 percent of the world's oceans. The high-powered submarine detection system will operate at noise levels billions of times more intense than those known to disturb the migration and communication of large whales. Although the administration agreed to impose some requirements on the Navy, the permit it issued remains far too broad to protect marine life in any meaningful way. As the Navy has failed to answer even some of the most fundamental questions about the system's potential threats to marine mammals and the ecosystem, this new permit is especially alarming. EXTRACT 4 By Ocean Defense International: First and foremost, our national security depends on a clean, healthy environment. I am writing to express my concern regarding the US Navy's impending deployment of SURTASS LFAS when there are alternatives to LFA Sonar that do not harm the environment. LFAS poses one of the greatest threats to marine mammals and other marine life. This threat is unacceptable considering that the US Navy can fulfill its mission for national security by using advanced passive detection systems. The US Navy has a duty of environmental stewardship of the sea which will be abrogated upon deployment of LFAS. The threat from LFAS was defined by the United States Marine Mammal Commission as follows: If the LFA sonar is made available for worldwide deployment as proposed, all species and populations of marine mammals could possibly be affected. The possible effects could include: death from lung hemorrhage and other tissue trauma; temporary or permanent hearing loss or impairment; disruption of feeding, breeding, nursing, acoustic communication and sensing, or other vital behavior; annoyance and subsequent abandonment or avoidance of traditional feeding, breeding or other biologically important habitats; psychological and physiological stress, disease, parasites and predation; and changes in the distribution, abundance, or productivity of marine mammal prey species and subsequent decreases in both individual marine mammal survival and productivity in population size and productivity. In view of the unacceptable risk to whales and other marine life posed by LFAS, a comprehensive independent scientific assessment must be conducted regarding its potentially catastrophic impact on the global marine environment. Our national security depends on it. Quotes of Relevance "From a scientific point of view, there is very little question that, given the right set of circumstances, active sonar can kill marine life." Naomi Rose, marine mammal scientist with the Humane Society of the United States >>o LFA Sonar - I have compiled the following information from a variety of sources and feel that the use of LFA Sonar is unacceptable and is nothing short of Bioterrorism in the true sense of the word. LFAS is a new low level frequency sonar system to detect submarines and land forms underwater. Its frequency has been measured to up to approx. 160 decibells and is devastating to marine life. ( Whales, manatees, giant squids, and dolphins around the world are beaching themselves, or showing increasing signs of disorientation and stress.) One must wonder what the affect these massive sonic booms have on ice packs as well. I must add that the conditions under which the use of this detection system was approved by the American Government/Military was very dubious. (Apparently 1 vote out of 10 was all it took). George Bush was aware that it would cause fatalities amongst the cetacean species. The environmental impact tests on LFAS were inconclusive and thin to say the least prior to its approval. Please help make this issue known to the public at large. - Deborah Friedrich EXTRACT 1 'The U.S. Navy is planning on deploying Low Frequency Active (LFA) sonar across 80% of the Earth's oceans. LFA is proven to injure and destroy whales and dolphins. LFA noise is millions of times more intense than the Navy considers safe for human divers and billions of times more intense than levels known to disturb large whales. In March, 2000, during a Mid- range frequency (rather than the Low Frequency bandwidth of LFAS) test in the Bahamas, four different species of whales and dolphins beached themselves suffering from hemorrhaging/bleeding in the ears. A National Marine Fisheries Service and Navy investigation determined the deaths were almost certainly caused by the LFA test. A follow-on study in February 2001, determined that at least one of those whale species no longer existed in the area. Mid-range frequencies are already in use world-wide, and are now proven to be very dangerous in certain circumstances. The LFAS system is even more dangerous, as the sounds will propagate farther and be disabling at a greater distance. Even the Navy acknowledges the danger of LFA. An internal study briefly exposed a 32 year old Navy diver to LFA sonar at a level significantly below what it is designed to operate. The diver had to be hospitalized, and two years later was still being treated with anti-depressant and anti-seizure medications. Whales rely on their sensitive hearing for survival. A whale cannot survive without its hearing. The Navy's attempts to deploy LFA could result in the extermination of whales and dolphins world wide. EXTRACT 2 I worked at the navy experimental diving unit when the LFA studies were done. I know the man that was injured and I believe if it effects the brain in man it will effect any living thing. Alot more study needs done before it is used. Quote from John S. EXTRACT 3 From: NRDC - Natural Resources Defense Council On July 16th, 2002 the Bush administration granted the Navy a permit to harm whales, dolphins, and other marine mammals while using its Low Frequency Active sonar system in as much as 80 percent of the world's oceans. The high-powered submarine detection system will operate at noise levels billions of times more intense than those known to disturb the migration and communication of large whales. Although the administration agreed to impose some requirements on the Navy, the permit it issued remains far too broad to protect marine life in any meaningful way. As the Navy has failed to answer even some of the most fundamental questions about the system's potential threats to marine mammals and the ecosystem, this new permit is especially alarming. EXTRACT 4 By Ocean Defense International: First and foremost, our national security depends on a clean, healthy environment. I am writing to express my concern regarding the US Navy's impending deployment of SURTASS LFAS when there are alternatives to LFA Sonar that do not harm the environment. LFAS poses one of the greatest threats to marine mammals and other marine life. This threat is unacceptable considering that the US Navy can fulfill its mission for national security by using advanced passive detection systems. The US Navy has a duty of environmental stewardship of the sea which will be abrogated upon deployment of LFAS. The threat from LFAS was defined by the United States Marine Mammal Commission as follows: If the LFA sonar is made available for worldwide deployment as proposed, all species and populations of marine mammals could possibly be affected. The possible effects could include: death from lung hemorrhage and other tissue trauma; temporary or permanent hearing loss or impairment; disruption of feeding, breeding, nursing, acoustic communication and sensing, or other vital behavior; annoyance and subsequent abandonment or avoidance of traditional feeding, breeding or other biologically important habitats; psychological and physiological stress, disease, parasites and predation; and changes in the distribution, abundance, or productivity of marine mammal prey species and subsequent decreases in both individual marine mammal survival and productivity in population size and productivity. In view of the unacceptable risk to whales and other marine life posed by LFAS, a comprehensive independent scientific assessment must be conducted regarding its potentially catastrophic impact on the global marine environment. Our national security depends on it. Quotes of Relevance "From a scientific point of view, there is very little question that, given the right set of circumstances, active sonar can kill marine life." Naomi Rose, marine mammal scientist with the Humane Society of the United States >>o |
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