Research Highlights

Low Visibility Marine Mammal Detection Methods
- Why – Low visibility time periods are a known mitigation challenge and the inability to detect animals can limit 24 hour operations.
Behavioral Response of Whales to Marine Vibroseis
- Why – Marine Vibroseis is widely recognized and often promoted as an alternative seismic source that limits sound energy being generated outside the nominal seismic bandwidth and is non-impulsive. We need to understand what type of response, if any, animals have to this source so that regulatory frameworks and impact assessment methods can enable it’s use.

Population Consequence of Disturbance (PCOD) use for Impact Assessment
- Why – Methods to assess population consequences of activities (particularly long term/cumulative effects) are not broadly accessible or adopted. Such tools will enable scientific-based prediction of long-term basin-wide impacts.

Mysticete Hearing – Improved Weighting Functions and Thresholds
- Why – Large impact distances using current weighting functions. Little is known and recent published thresholds are precautionary.

Continuous Versus Impulsive Sound Expert Workshops
- Why – Current regulations and thresholds are speculative, primarily based on impulsive sound or historical studies related to continuous sound. Expert Panel Workshop series will aim to align the community on the gaps and the science needed to fill them. Workshops will set the stage for future Programme focus areas.