Eventhough earthquakes are happening globally almost always on a small scale , there has been a large cluster of earthquakes over the past few weeks and also some volcanic eruptions with a recent small warning of a major volcanic eruption being now possible as a consequence of all of these recent events.

I wonder how loudly these events are being broadcast through the oceans and whether it has set off a panic response with the sounds waves broadcast through the oceans being in in part why this mass beaching is happening. With the sonar capacity of the whales, I imagine multiple large scales sound waves bombarding their sensory systems would be damaging to their brains or provide great discomfort to them.

Either way it is a large amount of these majestic mammals affected.

https://www.msn.com/en-au/news/world/some-230-whales-beached-in-tasmania-rescue-efforts-underway/ar-AA12482T?ocid=msedgntp&cvid=c4c364f0430b4797aaaf5f7629f579e6

HOBART, Australia (AP) — About 230 whales have been stranded on Tasmania’s west coast, just days after 14 sperm whales were found beached on an island off the southeastern coast.

The pod, which is stranded on Ocean Beach, appears to be pilot whales and at least half are presumed to still be alive, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania said Wednesday.

A team from the Marine Conservation Program was assembling whale rescue gear and heading to the area, the department said.

A resident told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. the whales were visible near the entrance to Macquarie Harbour and described the stranding as a “massive event.”

HOBART, Australia (AP) — About 230 whales have been stranded on Tasmania’s west coast, just days after 14 sperm whales were found beached on an island off the southeastern coast.

This photo provided by Huon Aquaculture, shows whales stranded at Macquarie Harbour in Strahan, Tasmania, Australia Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. About 230 whales have been stranded on Tasmania’s west coast, just days after 14 sperm whales were found beached on an island off the southeastern coast.

This photo provided by Huon Aquaculture, shows whales stranded at Macquarie Harbour in Strahan, Tasmania, Australia Wednesday, Sept. 21, 2022. About 230 whales have been stranded on Tasmania’s west coast, just days after 14 sperm whales were found beached on an island off the southeastern coast.

The pod, which is stranded on Ocean Beach, appears to be pilot whales and at least half are presumed to still be alive, the Department of Natural Resources and Environment Tasmania said Wednesday.

About 230 whales have been stranded on Tasmania’s west coast, just days after 14 sperm whales were found beached on an island off the southeastern coast. (Andrew Breen/Huon Aquaculture via AP)

A team from the Marine Conservation Program was assembling whale rescue gear and heading to the area, the department said.

A resident told the Australian Broadcasting Corp. the whales were visible near the entrance to Macquarie Harbour and described the stranding as a “massive event.”

David Midson, general manager of the West Coast Council, urged people to stay clear.

“Whales are a protected species, even once deceased, and it is an offence to interfere with a carcass,” the environment department said.

Griffith University marine scientist Olaf Meynecke said it’s unusual for sperm whales to wash ashore. He said that warmer temperatures could also be changing the ocean currents and moving the whale’s traditional food sources.

“They will be going to different areas and searching for different food sources,” Meynecke said. “When they do this, they are not in the best physical condition because they might be starving so this can lead them to take more risks and maybe go closer to shore.”

Fourteen sperm whales were discovered Monday afternoon on King Island, part of the state of Tasmania in the Bass Strait between Melbourne and Tasmania’s northern coast. The department said it is not unusual for sperm whales to be sighted in Tasmania.

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-22/tasmania-whale-strandings-keep-happening-what-we-know/101463898

Michael V said:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-22/tasmania-whale-strandings-keep-happening-what-we-know/101463898

Thanks, I guess I am adding a reason that “might” be relevant to some of the current thoughts on why this might occur. For example, it has been suggested underwater mining exploration and scanning of the seabed might upset whale sonar systems. The ocean is not a quiet place and I remember posting a thread a little while back that discusses that they now know that fish also make deliberate audible sounds underwater (which shouldn’t have been surprising reallly), I imagine a sudden interruption to the usual chatter would have to provoke a response in the oceans.

Whether that raises a sense of panic or damages their sensory system, if we overload our sensory systems like our ears, physical damage occurs, if your brain is designed to interpret sounds waves bouncing back at you, that region of the brain is evolved to work within in a certain limit and exceeding that limit would have some changes, seems reasonable. The herd mentality to follow your colony makes sense, is there a dampening effect to sound travelling through water to closer to shore, for example.

monkey skipper said:

Michael V said:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-22/tasmania-whale-strandings-keep-happening-what-we-know/101463898

Thanks, I guess I am adding a reason that “might” be relevant to some of the current thoughts on why this might occur. For example, it has been suggested underwater mining exploration and scanning of the seabed might upset whale sonar systems. The ocean is not a quiet place and I remember posting a thread a little while back that discusses that they now know that fish also make deliberate audible sounds underwater (which shouldn’t have been surprising reallly), I imagine a sudden interruption to the usual chatter would have to provoke a response in the oceans.

Whether that raises a sense of panic or damages their sensory system, if we overload our sensory systems like our ears, physical damage occurs, if your brain is designed to interpret sounds waves bouncing back at you, that region of the brain is evolved to work within in a certain limit and exceeding that limit would have some changes, seems reasonable. The herd mentality to follow your colony makes sense, is there a dampening effect to sound travelling through water to closer to shore, for example.

I suppose we could determine whether mass beachings occurred before the modern technology of the past 150 years by examining the historical record.

Witty Rejoinder said:

monkey skipper said:

Michael V said:

https://www.abc.net.au/news/2022-09-22/tasmania-whale-strandings-keep-happening-what-we-know/101463898

Thanks, I guess I am adding a reason that “might” be relevant to some of the current thoughts on why this might occur. For example, it has been suggested underwater mining exploration and scanning of the seabed might upset whale sonar systems. The ocean is not a quiet place and I remember posting a thread a little while back that discusses that they now know that fish also make deliberate audible sounds underwater (which shouldn’t have been surprising reallly), I imagine a sudden interruption to the usual chatter would have to provoke a response in the oceans.

Whether that raises a sense of panic or damages their sensory system, if we overload our sensory systems like our ears, physical damage occurs, if your brain is designed to interpret sounds waves bouncing back at you, that region of the brain is evolved to work within in a certain limit and exceeding that limit would have some changes, seems reasonable. The herd mentality to follow your colony makes sense, is there a dampening effect to sound travelling through water to closer to shore, for example.

I suppose we could determine whether mass beachings occurred before the modern technology of the past 150 years by examining the historical record.

Something different about whales than other sealife is they were terrestrial and then opted to return to the sea.

https://earthsky.org/earth/underwater-noise-pollution-whales-fish/#:~:text=For%20fish%2C%20whales%20and%20other%20marine%20animals%2C%20intense,to%20find%20food%20and%20mates%2C%20or%20avoid%20predators.

Underwater noise pollution stresses aquatic animals

By Adam Crane, University of Saskatchewan and Maud Ferrari, University of Saskatchewan

When the famous explorer Jacques Cousteau released The Silent World, a documentary of his underwater adventures in 1953, he inspired generations of scientists to study the world’s oceans.

We now know that the underwater world is anything but silent. In fact, today’s researchers are concerned that underwater noise produced by humans is distracting, confusing — and even killing — aquatic animals.

The underwater world is full of natural sounds that form a rich soundscape of rumbles, bubbles, grunts and clicks.

Ambient noise.

These sounds are produced by the motion of the atmosphere, water, and seafloor, by animals and, now more than ever, by machines created by humans.

Nowadays, the underwater soundscape includes the roar of motors, the ping of military sonar and the bangs and blasts from offshore development.

Communication breakdown

For fish, whales and other marine animals, intense underwater noises from blasts can cause acoustic trauma and even death. More common quieter noise, such as construction or shipping noise, may not kill the animals directly, but can disrupt their ability to find food and mates, or avoid predators.

Researchers use a hydrophone to record and measure noise from a passing motorboat. Image via Maud Ferrari.

https://cdn.theconversation.com/audio/1111/ambiant-noise.mp3

A wide range of species use acoustic signals to communicate with each other. Marine fishes, for instance, are known to make chirps, pops, knocks and grunts using their teeth, swim bladders or fins.

One consequence of anthropogenic — humanmade — noise is a masking effect. When the noise is close to a fish, it reduces that individual’s ability to hear the sounds of others. Noise also interferes with the sounds this individual produces, jamming communication.

School of noise

More and more, scientists are discovering that noise not only interferes with an animal’s cognitive processing of sounds, but also other types of stimuli, such as sight or smell. For example, boat noise interferes with the visual signals that cuttlefish use to communicate with each other.

Recent research in our lab indicated that noise can also impair an animal’s ability to process the chemical information released after a predator attack on shoal mates.

We looked at the effects of noise from small motorboats on coral-reef fishes at Lizard Island Research Station at the Great Barrier Reef in Australia. In the lab, we trained young damselfish to recognize the odour of the predatory dottyback as a threat. Some fish were trained in the presence of boat noise, while the others were trained with the ambient sound of the ocean.

We found that fish trained with boat noise showed no fright reactions when they were exposed to the predator. It was as though they had had no preparation at all. The fish trained in the absence of boat noise, however, were scared. They reduced activity and foraging.

We taught another group of fish to recognize the smell and sight of three common predators — in the presence or absence of boat noise — and then we released them back into the wild.

School is out

It turns out that fish don’t learn very well in noisy environments. After three days, only 20 percent of the fish exposed to boat noise were still alive, compared to almost 70 percent of unexposed fish.

We often think of the ways climate change, overfishing and run-off pollution threaten fish populations in the Great Barrier Reef, but our study adds to the growing evidence that boat noise may also contribute to fish death through a failure to learn.

Boat noise can have a variety of negative impacts on fishes. It can change their activity, force them to live in bad habitats and decrease their ability to feed, defend their territory, reproduce and avoid predators.

In some places, such as biodiversity hotspots or sensitive habitats, it may be prudent to create rules or laws that minimize the impacts of noise. Approaches to mitigate the effects of boat noise may include the implementation of quiet zones, speed restrictions or the use of mufflers or low-volume engine models. For example, quiet zones were recently implemented in British Columbia to protect a population of killer whales.

Humans rely on the ocean for its biodiversity and natural resources. It also plays a fundamental role in regulating atmospheric temperatures and gases. Cousteau cared deeply about ocean conservation and was gravely concerned about ocean pollution and the over-harvest of marine life. Today’s seas continue to face these threats, as well as from habitat destruction, warming and ocean acidification.

These ocean threats are also human threats.

As Cousteau said, “For most of history, man has had to fight nature to survive; in this century he is beginning to realize that, in order to survive, he must protect it.”

Adam Crane, Postdoctoral Fellow, University of Saskatchewan and Maud Ferrari, Associate Professor, University of Saskatchewan

This article was originally published on The Conversation. Read the original article.

Bottom line: Underwater noise pollution is distracting, confusing – and even killing – whales, fish and other aquatic animals.

> Bottom line: Underwater noise pollution is distracting, confusing – and even killing – whales, fish and other aquatic animals.

Yes and no.

Underwater noise pollution is a huge problem. Yes.

But not one that ever has been linked to whale stranding. So no.

mollwollfumble said:

> Bottom line: Underwater noise pollution is distracting, confusing – and even killing – whales, fish and other aquatic animals.

Yes and no.

Underwater noise pollution is a huge problem. Yes.

But not one that ever has been linked to whale stranding. So no.

That there is this far no evidence means little in that there has been little science done on this.

Margaret said it was two years to the day since the last stranding there…

mollwollfumble said:

> Bottom line: Underwater noise pollution is distracting, confusing – and even killing – whales, fish and other aquatic animals.

Yes and no.

Underwater noise pollution is a huge problem. Yes.

But not one that ever has been linked to whale stranding. So no.

>>Shipping is one of the most pervasive sources of ocean noise today, effectively producing an ever-present din that leads to acoustic masking. Acoustic masking is what happens when man-made sounds interfere with an animal’s ability to detect, recognize, or understand sounds of interest (e.g., mating, navigation, feeding, and others). Shipping vessels’ low frequency matches that of several marine animals, including seals, sea lions, and fish, and it increasingly interferes with marine animal daily activities, leading to hearing loss, stress, difficulty feeding, mating disruption, strandings, and even death.<<

Managing Underwater Noise Pollution

https://www.nps.gov/articles/canyouhearmenow.htm#:~:text=Vessel-generated%20underwater%20noise%20can%20affect%20humpback,protected%20area%20managers%20for%20ongoing%20use.&text=Vessel-generated%20underwater%20noise%20can,managers%20for%20ongoing%20use.&text=noise%20can%20affect%20humpback,protected%20area%20managers%20for

Underwater acoustic ecology metrics in an Alaska marine protected area reveal marine mammal communication masking and management alternatives

Abstract
Vessel-generated underwater noise can affect humpback whales, harbor seals, and other marine mammals by decreasing the distance over which they can communicate and detect predators and prey. Emerging analytical methods allow marine protected area managers to use biologically relevant metrics to assess vessel noise in the dominant frequency bands used by each species. Glacier Bay National Park (GBNP) in Alaska controls summer visitation with daily quotas for vessels ranging from cruise ships to yachts and skiffs. Using empirical data (weather, AIS vessel tracks, marine mammal survey data, and published behavioral parameters) we simulated the movements and acoustic environment of whales and seals on 3 days with differing amounts of vessel traffic and natural ambient noise. We modeled communication space (CS) to compare the area over which a vocalizing humpback whale or harbor seal could communicate with conspecifics in the current ambient noise environment (at 10-min intervals) relative to how far it could communicate under naturally quiet conditions, known as the reference ambient noise condition (RA). RA was approximated from the quietest 5th percentile noise statistics based on a year (2011) of continuous audio data from a hydrophone in GBNP, in the frequency bands of whale and seal sounds of interest: humpback “whup” calls (50–700 Hz, 143 dB re 1 μPa source level, SL); humpback song (224–708 Hz, 175 dB SL), and harbor seal roars (4–500 Hz, 144 dB SL). Results indicate that typical summer vessel traffic in GBNP causes substantial CS losses to singing whales (reduced by 13–28%), calling whales (18–51%), and roaring seals (32–61%), especially during daylight hours and even in the absence of cruise ships. Synchronizing the arrival and departure timing of cruise ships did not affect CS for singing whales, but restored 5–12% of lost CS for roaring seals and calling whales, respectively. Metrics and visualizations like these create a common currency to describe and explore methods to assess and mitigate anthropogenic noise. Important next steps toward facilitating effective conservation of the underwater sound environments will involve putting modeling tools in the hands of marine protected area managers for ongoing use.

Gabriele, C. M., D. W. Ponirakis, C. W. Clark, J. N., Womble, and P. Vanselow. 2018. Underwater acoustic ecology metrics in an Alaska marine protected area reveal marine mammal communication masking and management alternatives. Frontiers in Marine Science 5:270.