SAN JUAN ISLAND, Wash. — A team of scientists from the University of Washington recently embarked on a pioneering endeavor in the Salish Sea, employing a mile of fiber-optic cable to create a continuous underwater sound monitoring network aimed at understanding the endangered orca population. Working meticulously in early morning darkness, the researchers believe that this existing telecommunications technology, typically used for internet signals, can effectively capture the clicks and calls of passing whales.
The methodology, known as Distributed Acoustic Sensing (DAS), could transform thousands of miles of underwater communication networks into extensive listening devices, providing vital insights into marine biodiversity and informing conservation efforts. “Imagine having thousands of hydrophones along the cable, continuously recording data,” stated Shima Abadi, a key researcher involved in the project. These hydrophones, which traditionally listen from a single point, allow for pinpointing the exact location of marine life and tracking their movements more effectively.
While similar technologies have successfully recorded the sounds of large baleen whales, orcas present a unique challenge due to their high-frequency vocalizations that have yet to be tested with current systems. Successful application of DAS could allow for real-time alerts to maritime traffic, reducing noise pollution that can interfere with orca communication and hunting.
Endangered Southern Resident orcas number around 75 and face significant threats including noise pollution, toxic contaminations, and diminishing food sources like Chinook salmon. With significant declines in salmon populations attributed to habitat loss and climate change, the urgent need for effective conservation strategies has never been more pressing.
In a broader context, this innovation could greatly enhance global efforts to monitor marine life. The Salish Sea project represents a promising step towards data-rich approaches to protecting both whale populations and their environment against human influences.
With the looming implementation of the high seas treaty aimed at designating new marine protected areas, enhanced data-driven insights from such studies could determine key areas needing protection, paving the way for comprehensive efforts to conserve marine biodiversity.
At sea, the researchers face formidable challenges as they carefully align and fuse fiber strands, striving to ensure their technological setup is robust enough to withstand harsh ocean conditions. With data streaming to shore, visualizations display frequency patterns, enabling scientists monitoring for orca activity to correlate specific sounds with individual whale behaviors.
As the researchers anticipate orca activity in the region, the potential outcomes of this experiment promise to generate critical data that could protect and sustain one of the world's most iconic marine species.
