Mardi Hastings

Ocean Noise and Marine Mammals: What We Know and What We're Trying to Find Out

Abstract

Since the 1991 Heard Island feasibility test for acoustic thermometry in the ocean, the public concern about the effects of noise on marine mammals has grown. Recent news articles have reported potential effects of Navy sonar on marine mammals in Hanalei Bay, Hawaii, and in the Haro Strait of the Pacific Northwest. To determine how best to prevent harm to marine mammals while still training and operating at sea, we must understand the sound energy source characteristics and propagation paths, the location and movement of marine mammal populations, and the biological effects of sound on individual animals. The Marine Mammal Program at the Office of Naval Research has supported studies to determine the effects of human-generated underwater sound on the health, hearing, and behavior of these animals since 1992. We have learned a great deal about the effects of sound on hearing and some about the effects of sound on behavior, but there is still much to learn. This presentation will provide an overview of what we know, where we are going, and key issues that need to be addressed about the interaction between marine mammals and sound in order to maintain our environmental stewardship in the ocean.

Biography

In 1987 Mardi Hastings was the first woman to receive a Ph.D. in the School of Mechanical Engineering at Georgia Tech. She worked in industry for eight years before and after her doctoral studies, and was a member of the technical staff at AT&T Bell Laboratories just prior to joining the faculty in the Dept. of Mechanical Engineering at the Ohio State University in 1990.

During her years at OSU she advised 30 graduate and 10 undergraduate honors students. Her research covered many areas of acoustics and was funded by both industry and federal agencies. Dr. Hastings joined the Office of Naval Research as a Program Manager for Marine Mammal Science and Technology in January 2003. She is also a research faculty member in the Biology Department at the University of Maryland, College Park, where she has re-established her laboratory.

Dr. Hastings has received numerous awards including the National Science Foundation Presidential Young Investigator Award and the Ohio State University Kathryn T. Schoen Leadership Award. She is a Fellow of the ASA, past chair of the Animal Bioacoustics Technical Committee, and currently a member of the ASA Executive Council. Her research interests are in bioacoustics, ultrasonic instrumentation, auditory biomechanics, and biological system simulation and identification.