Just some numbers on sonic cannon mapping I thought were interesting after the Obama administration announced approval for use of sonic cannons off of the Eastern US coast for geological survey purposes; much to the dismay of environmentalists and people who owe their livelihoods to fisheries and tourism. Energy companies however, need the data as they prepare to apply for drilling leases in 2018, when current congressional limits expire.
The cannons create noise pollution in waters shared by whales, dolphins and turtles, sending sound waves many times louder than a jet engine reverberating through the deep every ten seconds for weeks or monthly at a time.
They are already used in the western Gulf of Mexico, off Alaska and in other offshore oil operations around the world. They are towed behind boats, sending down pulses of sound that reverberate beneath the sea floor and rebound to the surface. Hydrophones capture the results, which computers translate into high resolution, three-dim
