Protection Guidelines:

Procedures

Research Cruises:

2005

2004

2003

Marine Mammal Protection Research

Seismic Research Contributes to Early Warning Systems

Mexico Crater Yields New Research

Related Links:

Understanding Ocean Acoustics

Report from the National Academies

Nationwide Lecture Series on Noise Impacts (PDF Download)

Energy, Climate, Natural Hazards

• Marine acoustic surveys have pinpointed locations on the seafloor where natural gas seepages, some quite violent, have occurred. Accumulation of gas at shallow depths may cause large-scale collapses of continental margins. Knowledge of seepage locations is important, not only to regional planning, but also to the understanding of how new biological communities become established on the sea floor. Additionally, methane, a principal and abundant gas in these seepages, is a potent greenhouse gas implicated in climate change. Researchers are learning how to calculate gas quantities at seepage locations and use these numbers in climate change scenarios. Methane is also a potential future energy resource, although it is currently difficult to exploit.