This process does not appear to be a good idea especially when the USA should be shifting towards forms of renewable energy.
The news article does not directly specify any of the research that has been done to try to justify the use of "sound cannons".
Here is some background information on what departments are involved and which people have leading roles in those departments. More importantly, though, are the links at the end that allow one to see some of the research has been done to attempt to characterize the effects of sound in a marine environment.
I have not had time to read over this material, but at first glance it does not seem to indicate that a crew of "Heck-of-a-Job-Brownies" are running the show:
Department of the Interior
1849 C Street, N.W.
Washington DC 20240
People and Bureaus:
Employee Directory - available by phone (202) 208-3100
National Park Service
U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service
Bureau of Indian Affairs
Bureau of Land Management
Office of Surface Mining
U.S. Geological Survey
Bureau of Reclamation
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Personnel
Walter Cruickshank, Ph.D., Acting Director
Walter Cruickshank, Ph.D. As Acting Director of BOEM, Dr. Cruickshank manages the development of the Nation’s offshore resources in an environmentally and economically responsible way. These programs include leasing, plan administration, environmental studies, National Environmental Policy Act analysis, resource evaluation, economic analysis and the Renewable Energy Program. Prior to becoming the Deputy Director of BOEM upon its establishment in October 2011, Dr. Cruickshank served as Deputy Director of the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, Regulation and Enforcement (BOEMRE) and the former MMS since 2002. Dr. Cruickshank has worked in the Department of the Interior for more than 25 years. He earned a Bachelor of Arts in Geological Sciences from Cornell University and a Doctorate in Mineral Economics from the Pennsylvania State University.
http://www.boem.gov/Acting-Director/
...
Chief Environmental Officer William Yancey Brown
William Yancey Brown served as the Science Advisor to the Secretary of the Interior, Bruce Babbitt, from 1997 to 2001 and worked for the Interior Department earlier in his career. He is a former President and CEO of the Woods Hole Research Center, a leading non-profit research organization that applies science to global environmental challenges. Brown is a former President and CEO of the Academy of Natural Sciences in Philadelphia, PA, the nation's oldest natural history museum, and former President and CEO of the Bishop Museum, the leading cultural and natural history museum of the Pacific. He has served as a volunteer director on many non-profit boards, including chairing the Ocean Conservancy Board. Dr. Brown earned the degrees of Juris Doctor from Harvard Law School in 1977, Doctor of Philosophy in zoology from the University of Hawaii in 1973, Master of Arts in teaching from Johns Hopkins University in 1970, and Bachelor of Arts in biology from the University of Virginia in 1969.
...
Division of Environmental Sciences Chief Dr. Rodney E. Cluck
Dr. Rodney Cluck holds a Ph.D. in environmental sociology from Mississippi State University and a Masters Degree in Rural Sociology from the University of Arkansas, Fayetteville. For 6 years, beginning in 1999, Dr. Cluck served as the senior Bureau social scientist where he developed and oversaw scientific studies and conducted National Environmental Policy Act analysis. In 2005, Dr. Cluck joined the Office of Alternative Energy Programs and became the project manager for the United States’ first offshore wind facility. Dr. Cluck is currently the Chief of the Division of Environmental Sciences where he leads the Environmental Studies Program, the scientific backbone that informs policy decisions regarding leasing and development of ocean energy.
...
http://www.boem.gov/Leadership/
Some research has been done regarding sound and cetaceans:
Background
In a January 19, 2010 letter to the President’s Council on Environmental Quality, NOAA Administrator Dr. Jane Lubchenco committed to improving the tools used by the agency to evaluate the impacts of human-induced noise on cetacean species. As a result, two data and product-driven working groups were convened in January 2011: the Underwater Sound-field Mapping Working Group and the Cetacean Density and Distribution Mapping Working Group. In May 2012, the working groups presented their products at a Symposium where potential management applications were discussed with a large multi-stakeholder audience.
Underwater Sound Field Mapping Working Group
The specific objective of the NOAA Underwater Sound Field Mapping Working Group (SoundMap) is to create mapping methods to depict the temporal, spatial, and spectral characteristics of underwater noise.
Cetacean Density and Distribution Mapping Working Group
The specific objective of the Cetacean Density and Distribution Mapping Group (CetMap) is to create regional cetacean density and distribution maps that are time- and species-specific, using survey data and models that estimate density using predictive environmental factors. Separately, to augment the more quantitative density mapping and provide additional context for impact analyses, the CetMap is also identifying known areas of specific importance for cetaceans, such as reproductive areas, feeding areas, migratory corridors, and areas in which small or resident populations are concentrated.
Integrative Symposium
On May 23rd and 24th at the Four Points Sheraton in Washington DC, the near-final draft CetMap and SoundMap products were presented to an audience of ~170 people that included participants from government agencies, regulated industries, independent scientists, environmental consultancies and conservation advocacy groups.
...
http://cetsound.noaa.gov/index.html
The symposium's final report is also posted:
MAPPING CETACEANS AND SOUND: MODERN TOOLS FOR OCEAN MANAGEMENT SYMPOSIUM FINAL REPORT
May 23rd and 24th, 2012
Four Points Sheraton,
1201 K Street NW
Washington, DC.
...
4
EXECUTIVE SUMMARY
Sound is the most effective means for marine species to communicate and sense their environment underwater and is critical to multiple life functions for all marine vertebrates and even some invertebrates. With increased understanding of how anthropogenic noise can limit the ability of marine species to hear and communicate, the US National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), charged with managing the impacts of noise on marine life, has recognized the need to undergo a fundamental shift towards a more integrated and comprehensive strategy for measuring, managing, and reducing chronic noise impacts.
In a January 19, 2010 letter to the President’s Council on Environmental Quality, NOAA Administrator Jane Lubchenco committed to improving the tools used by the agency to evaluate the impacts of human-induced noise on cetacean species. As a result, two data and product-driven working groups were convened in January 2011: the Underwater Sound-field MappingWorking Group (SoundMap) and the Cetacean Density and Distribution Mapping Working Group (CetMap). The overarching effort of both Working Groups is referred to as CetSound.
...
http://cetsound.noaa.gov/pdf/CetSound_Symposium_Report_Final.pdf
Many, many questions could be asked. What spectrum of frequencies are being used to conduct the studies? Can one use frequencies that are not audible to cetaceans, etc.? One wonders how sound intensity behaves versus depth, temperature, salinity, direction, etc. Do concentrations of high salinity form channels and could one create a soliton in such channels? Does total internal reflection exist if such channels exist? If such effects could exist in these circumstances, what sound levels would be carried? How could any of this affect marine creatures?
At this point, I neither know if these questions would be valid questions nor if they (if valid) have been addressed, but would be interested if anyone else knows of links to information that relates to them.
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