{"id":719,"date":"2018-11-21T13:15:12","date_gmt":"2018-11-21T13:15:12","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/?p=719"},"modified":"2018-11-21T13:15:12","modified_gmt":"2018-11-21T13:15:12","slug":"world-first-seismic-sound-experiment-conducted-off-nw-australia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/2018\/11\/21\/world-first-seismic-sound-experiment-conducted-off-nw-australia\/","title":{"rendered":"World first seismic sound experiment conducted off NW Australia"},"content":{"rendered":"

The Australian Institute of Marine Science\u00a0(AIMS)\u00a0has conducted the first real-world seismic experiment to determine the effects of marine noise on fish and pearl oysters.
\nThe experiment, using the seismic vessel the\u00a0BGP Explorer<\/a>, surveyed two sites off the northwest of Western Australia over ten days. The experiment, which has taken the collaborative efforts of more than 100 people 12 months to design and co-ordinate, could help to clarify some\u00a0of the\u00a0issues around marine noise.<\/a>
\nAIMS Project Science Leader\u00a0Dr Mark\u00a0Meekan<\/a>\u00a0said the experiment was unique.
\n\u201cIt is the first time anyone has had a dedicated seismic vessel to look at the effects of seismic energy on pearl oysters\u00a0and on fish,\u201d Dr Meekan said.
\n\u201cThis is an enormous piece of research, the answers are not going to apply just to Australia,\u00a0they\u2019ll\u00a0be important internationally.\u201d
\nSeismic surveys are used to produce images of the various geological layers and their location beneath the earth\u2019s surface. The seismic vessel tows an array of\u00a0air guns\u00a0that use compressed air to produce acoustic energy. Sound waves penetrate the seabed and, depending on the depth and characteristics of the geological layers, are reflected back at different time intervals and intensity.
\nThe reflected sounds are captured by a series of very sensitive hydrophones (underwater microphones) towed behind the seismic vessel.\u00a0Analysing\u00a0the time of arrival and characteristics of the reflected sound waves provides valuable information about the geological layers.
\nThe\u00a0study\u00a0is looking specifically at pearl oysters (Pinctada maxima<\/em>) and red emperor, which are a commercially important indicator species for other demersal fish.
\nThe\u00a0researchers tagged 390 red emperor and are tracking the fish via an array of 96 acoustic receivers as well as using BRUVS\u00a9 (Baited Remote Underwater Video Systems<\/a>) to document their movements before, during and after exposure to the seismic sound.
\nDepartment of Primary Industries and Regional Development<\/a>\u00a0acting regional manager Ellen Smith\u00a0said\u00a0looking into the effect of seismic activities on demersal fish was important because their abundance and biodiversity is an indicator of the health of an ecosystem.
\n\u201cWe want to find out if fish change their\u00a0behaviour\u00a0and leave the area, stop spawning, hide or return to\u00a0normal,\u201d Ms Smith said. \u201cIf we know how demersal fish react we can manage our fisheries appropriately to ensure long-term sustainability.\u201d
\nWith the support of the\u00a0Pearl Producers Association<\/a>\u00a0and the\u00a0Paspaley\u00a0Pearl Company<\/a>\u00a0the AIMS study\u00a0also\u00a0set out more than 10,000 pearl oysters in groups of about 1200 at different distances of up to 6 kilometres\u00a0from the seismic vessel operation.
\n\u201cThis experiment is important because we need to understand the nature of the risks associated with seismic testing and pearl oysters at Eighty Mile Beach,\u201d Pearl Producers Association chief executive Aaron Irving said.
\nMore information on the project can be found at:\u00a0www.aims.gov.au\/nw-shoals-to-shore<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

The Australian Institute of Marine Science\u00a0(AIMS)\u00a0has conducted the first real-world seismic experiment to determine the effects of marine noise on fish and pearl oysters. The experiment, using the seismic vessel the\u00a0BGP Explorer, surveyed two sites off the northwest of Western Australia over ten days. The experiment, which has taken the collaborative efforts of more than … Continue reading “World first seismic sound experiment conducted off NW Australia”<\/span><\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-719","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-aussie"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=719"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/719\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=719"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=719"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/www.16news.com.au\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=719"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}