Introduction from 2005:
INTRODUCTION
Before embarking on a discussion of LFA (which stands for Low Frequency Active) sonar, I wish to give a brief explanation about the materials I will be posting in the upcoming weeks. The first part of this series will begin with an explanation of what sonar is and how it relates to mathematics and the electromagnetic spectrum. These are fundamental science things that should have been taught and learned in highschool. Unfortunately, education systems do not work very well when it comes to these matters. Therefore, this section is designed to get every reader up to speed and make understanding the next three sections a bit easier. If anyone has questions, or comments, please feel free to contact me.
Section II will deal with the intricacies of submarine warfare. This will include information on what nations have submarines, who sold them the submarines, the depths they operate at, and what the issues are surrounding the “need” for submarine surveillance. The last part of Section II will discuss the types of sonar systems utilized by various militaries; including ALFA – Airborne Low Frequency Active Sonar.
Section III will discuss the anatomy and physiology of whales and dolphins. I include here a discussion of lung capacity, vocalization ranges, swiming depths, foods, and the signs and symptoms that an animal has been adversely affected by LFA sonar systems. Time and information permitting, I would also like to put some information up on sea turtles and other forms of marine life. Unfortunately, there is very little information about the effects of LFA sonar on these animals.
Section IV is a series of calculation and examination of various prophecies to predict the outcome of massive deployment of these sonar systems. The answers are as brutal as they are shocking. In this section, I will also present meditaitons for this issue, and other means of helping to solve this problem. For now, I begin with education.
Some of the original text I had on the site back in 2002.
WHAT IS SONAR?
Sonar is defined as apparatus for detecting and locating underwater objects by the sound waves they reflect. There are a lot of things here that need explaining so that we can get a better idea of what happens with dolphins and whales, and why the military use of LFA sonar is so detrimental. In the course of this particular writing, I will also try to provide some background for how the military arrived at the conclusion that such monitoring of the oceans is needed.
I will say up front: there is a danger presented by non-alliance submarines; but that danger is one of choices made by these nations. It is NOT the kind of danger that is unavoidable. The United States government and the greed ridden weapons industry created this very danger by selling the weapons, and the licenses and directions for building the submarines we now seek to monitor. My personal position is this: marine life, and possibly all life, should not (but definitely will because of these LFA surveillance systems) have to suffer extinction because of the faulty decision making that led to a comparatively small problem. As far as I am concerned, these greedy individuals ought to dig themselves out the hard way. Ie. either buy the subs back or the US and the UN will have to find more peaceable forms of communications with these “rogue” nations and leaders.
While I acknowledge the risk presented by these “foreign” submarines, I also consider the loss to world food supplies that will result in the extermination of marine life. In addition, what these massive deaths will do to water quality; including freshwater supplies that are fed from evaporation of ocean water. Considering the gases released when dead bodies decompose, there also, seems to me, literally, a risk of armeggedon scale proportions. I take this hypothesis and will present the calculations for what “critical” mass of dead bodies will set off this reaction in a given timeframe. I also base this hypothesis on massive deaths already demonstrated by the beachings after small scale tests of LFA sonar deployment. It seems to me these risks are far greater, and because they are definite, far more compelling, than the unknown of what our adversaries will or will not do with the weapons we gave them.
THE ELECTROMAGNETIC SPECTRUM
I would like to explain a little bit about what “sound” is, and how it works. The electromagentic spectrum, which includes audible sound, is made up of waves that have certain characteristics.
How many people reading this remember playing jump rope? Ok… maybe I’d better explain this for the guys out there. You can play jump rope all by yourself, or if the rope is long (and heavy enough) two people can twirl the rope in unison. The result is an arc that others can skip through (yes, there is a trick to it!!). Now, let’s suppose instead of moving your arm in a circle, you move it up and down instead, and the other person just holds his/her end of the rope. The result is a series of “waves” that move along the length of the rope. Now, we can think about the person shaking the rope as the “sender” or transmitter, and the other person as the “receiver”.
The wave high points (peaks) and low points (troughs) are modified depending on how fast you move the rope, and, like so many things in life, how much effort you put in. The faster you move your arm up and down, the faster the waves will move along the rope, and the closer together they will be. Since the wave is moving faster along the rope, and you are creating more waves with each motion, the receiver will get more waves in a set period of time.
Any electromagnetic radiation, therefore, can be thought of as being composed of three factors. First, the size of each cycle, or what is called wavelength. This is measured from peak to peak. Second, its frequency – how fast each wavelength moves, cycles, or oscillates. This is measured in hertz (in this case, usually khz and mhz) – the number of cycles that pass by a specific point in one second. The speed of sound is dependant upon temperature and pressure. Third, the amount of force or energy it carries – measured in volts. In the case of sonar, we are interested in audible sound, whose energy is measured in decibels.
DECIBEL MEASUREMENT AND THE LOGARITHMIC SCALE
Another concept that needs to be introduced before launching into the specifics of LFA Sonar is that of a logarithmic scale. Numbers can be derived either by additive/subtractive processes, or multiplication/division ones. In linear scales, the next number that describes a property is derived by addition or subtraction. An example of this would be when you go shopping. Let us suppose that you decide to buy 124 bottles of fruit juice. In order to put them in your cart, you take them off the shelf two at a time. Thus, to describe the number of bottles in your cart, the series would look something like: 0,2,4,6,8,10,12…124. This is a linear scale, since you are adding bottles to the cart at a steady rate.
Sound, however, does not travel at a steady rate. It propagates, or multiplies as it travels due to exciting more atoms as it passes. In the bottle analogy, let us suppose that for every bottle you put in the cart, it, and all the others in the cart magically divides into two bottles. Thus, your scale would look like: 0,2, 4, 12, 28, 60, 124 as a description for how many bottles are in the cart. As you can see, the placement of 12 bottles over six trips to the cart results in a very high number of bottles as compared to the same six trips on a linear scale. In addition, the doubling of the numbers increases more and more with each trip. Example: 4 – 12 is a difference of 8, while the difference between 28 and 12 bottles is 16! This doubling factor, as you will see later, is crucial to the argument about the real differences between 150 decibels and 180. This difference is logarithmic, not linear, and so is much greater than one would assume by taking the numbers at face value, not even considering exponential jump due to propagation of the sound wave in water.
HOW DO WHALES AND DOLPHINS USE SONAR?
Sound is sometimes referred to as a percussion wave, because as it moves, it forces atoms closer together, and then the atoms move back apart again after it passes. Sonar signals, therefore, do the same thing. Because sound requires atoms to push around, it cannot travel in a vacuum. Since water is denser than air, sound travels faster, farther, and with greater intensity under water. It is estimated that sound travels 5 times faster underwater than in air.
This characteristic is taken advantage of by certain species of whales, since underwater, vision and smell are of little use at the depths they live in. These, and other marine animals emit sounds and then listen for the feedback. This helps them locate objects underwater, such as mates, prey, adversaries, and other objects. In certain species, if a whale does not sing, it does not eat, because it has no way to find food. I will come back to this point in the discussion of LFA sonar.
Humans actually pick up an extremely narrow band of the entire range of electromagnetic radiation via eyes and ears. Other animals, such as whales, dolphins, bees, birds, bats, and many others, have much broader “receptor” capabilities. Even within our narrow capabilities, studies have shown physical damage from sounds that are too loud. How many people remember those hazy crazy teenage days, and being warned about the volume of all that heavy metal?
“For humans, a sound level of 85 dB causes permanent hearing damage (the effect is cumulative), and a sound level of 125 dB causes ear pain. A single exposure to a sufficiently loud sound can cause temporary or permanent deafness, or even rupture the eardrums.” http://www.thepubliccause.net/LoudSONARs3.html#UnderwaterSound
“What is the decibel level known to affect humans?
According to the Navy’s own study, scientists briefly exposed a 32-year-old Navy diver to LFA sonar at a level of 160 decibels — a fraction of the intensity at which the LFA system is designed to operate. After 12 minutes, the diver experienced severe symptoms, including dizziness and drowsiness. After being hospitalized, he relapsed, suffering memory dysfunction and seizure. Two years later he was being treated with anti-depressant and anti-seizure medications.”
http://www.oceanfutures.org/jmc/messages/lfa_qa.asp#e
APPROXIMATE DECIBEL RANGES AND USAGES
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TRANSMITTER
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ESTIMATED DECIBEL RANGE
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SPECIES NOTED
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SPECIES RANGE
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DAMAGE NOTED FROM EXPOSURE TO TRANSMITTER
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NATO LFA – GREECE 1996
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150 – 160
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BEAKED WHALES, MEDITERRANEAN
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HEMORRHAGE IN EARS/BEACHING – 13 DIED
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SURTASS/LFA
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150 – 240
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|||
|
220
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SPERM WHALE
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160 – 180
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STOP SINGING
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|
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US NAVY LFA EXPERIMENTS
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180
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BLUE WHALE – USE SONG FOR FINDING MATES
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188 MAX
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50% DECREASE SONG
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US NAVY LFA EXPERIMENTS
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180
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FIN WHALE – USE SONG FOR FINDING MATES
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160 – 186
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30% DECREASE SONG
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US NAVY LFA EXPERIMENTS
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180
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GRAY WHALES – DEFLECT AT 120 dB
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185
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DEFLECTED MIGRATION
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LWAD SEA TESTING, 2000 **
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215 – 235
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MINKE & BEAKED WHALES, 1 SPOTTED DOLPHIN – BAHAMAS
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SEE IN TABLE BY SPECIES
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HEMORRHAGE IN EARS/BEACHING
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HUMPBACK WHALE
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175 – 190
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STOP SINGING AT 150 DB
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||
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LWAD 2000
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215 – 235
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MINKE WHALE
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151 – 175
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|
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BOWHEAD WHALE
DEFLECT AT 120
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158 – 189
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DEFLECTED MIGRATION
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||
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SOUTHERN RIGHT WHALE
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172 – 187
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|||
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BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN
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125 – 173
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COMMON DOLPHIN
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||||
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LWAD 2000
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SPOTTED DOLPHIN
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***Note: Blue whales are on the verge of extinction. They make some of the loudest sounds on earth!
**Note: LWAD was performed using mid-frequency sonar, which has been in the past considered safe.
It seems that lung capacity is directly related to vocalization decibel ranges. In turn, it would seem there is a correlation, then, between lung capacity and damage done by LFA sonar. This is of particular interest, since one of the most noted damages found in autopsies from beached whales is found in the lung tissue.
LUNG CAPACITY AND VOCALIZATION RANGE
spermacetti unique in sperm whale, dolphins relatively greater lung capacity; how lung capacity is measured, lung capacity variance among different cetaceans
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SPECIES
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LENGTH (M) WEIGHT (Kg)
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LUNG CAPACITY (LITERS)
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VOCALIZATION RANGE
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DAMAGE OBSERVED FROM LFA SONAR
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FINBACK WHALE
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21.6/73,000
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2,000
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||
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CUVIERS BEAKED WHALE
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5 TO 6/ 5300
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136
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||
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BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN
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2.2/126
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3 TO 3.5
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125 – 173
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|
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SPERM WHALE
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12-18/12,000 to 31,000
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1500 – 2000
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160 – 180
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BLUE WHALE
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23-27/
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188 MAX
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||
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MINKE WHALE
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7 – 9/ 5900
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152
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||
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BOWHEAD WHALE
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158 – 189
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|||
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HUMBACK WHALE
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11-16/
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175 – 190
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||
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SPOTTED DOLPHIN
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SPECIES NAME
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TYPE OF FEEDER
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FEEDING DEPTH
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MAIN FOODS AND THEIR AUDITORY RANGES
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FINBACK WHALE
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CUVIER’S BEAKED WHALE
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BOTTLENOSE DOLPHIN
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SPERM WHALE
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BLUE WHALE
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|||
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MINKE WHALE
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BOWHEAD WHALE
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HUMPBACK WHALE
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SPOTTED DOLPHIN
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WHAT IS LFA SONAR?
LFA stands for Low Frequency Active. This is a form of sonar system with two basic components – a transmitter that sends out a sound signal, and a receiver to pick up the responses that bounce back. SURTASS (Surveillance Towered Array Sensor System) differs only in that it does not send out any sound to begin with; thus it is a passive detection system.
According to the US Navy’s website dedicated to the issue of SURTASS, LFA systems would only be used when “a target is too quiet to be detected by the passive (SURTASS) system alone.” Targets considered too quiet include nuclear powered and diesel powered submarines. Now, HERE’S TWO CATCHES, and the logic trap.
If you think about it, the only way you would know these crafts are around is if you have something to detect them to begin with; or, it turns out, if you sold those submarines to potentially hostile nations in the first place. If you can detect them, why do you need LFA sonar? And, why sell such dangerous technology? It seems to me there were few, if any, concerned at the time about sea life; and it seems, these sellers had an equal disregard for the safety of our country; which the US NAVY now claim is in need of technologies which will exterminate whole species of sea life.
In short, the excuse only when needed (which implies only now and then), in truth and physical reality means these systems will be operating constantly. This will not only provide a hazard to whales and many other forms of sea life, it will exterminate them in a very short time. All that to keep an eye, or ear on “224 submarines operated by non-allied nations” Below is a map of Third World nations with at least diesel submarines; so that you can see the approximate areas LFA sonar would probably be in operation.
Above image found at: http://members.tripod.com/~fidelispark/third/sub.htm
What is worse, as you will see in the table below, some of the submarines we now have to be concerned about were sold by the United States to these third world countries in the 1990′s. A prime example, the HDW-209 (US origin development) sold to Egypt in 1994 at a lower price than what they would paid to Germany (who the US sold license to produce).
“More than 20 developing countries currently operate over 150 diesel attack submarines. North Korea has 25 such vessels, India 18, Turkey 15, Greece 10, Egypt 8, Libya 6 and Pakistan 6. Many of these boats are obsolescent, poorly maintained or operated by ill-trained crews. Others, however, could be a match for many vessels in the navies of the industrial world.” http://members.tripod.com/~fidelispark/third/sub.htm
“Except for Iran’s nuclear program, no aspect of its current military buildup has received as much attention as the submarine purchase from Russia. The U.S. openly tried to talk the Russians out of making the sale on the grounds that it was against their own national interest. When Secretary of State James Baker apparently succeeded, there was talk of the triumph of American policy. But it soon became clear that whatever the Russian Foreign Ministry might say, the Defense Ministry was going to sell the subs to any client who could pay in hard currency.”
…. Iran’s late Shah was seeking subs almost a decade and a half ago. If the U.S. had been building any conventionally powered submarines, it would have sold him some gladly. Since the U.S. only builds nuclear-powered subs and does not sell them outside of NATO, the Shah was looking to Germany. Iran’s revolution blocked delivery.
http://www.washington-report.org/backissues/1292/9212040.html
Now, there is an even more insidious catch. According to some of my sources, underwater sound (including those emitted by Surtass arrays) can actually be deflected by large masses of moving sea life, which has its heaviest density bands between 900 and 2000 feet. As you can see in the table below, this is also the range in which many of submarines are at their optimal performance. The Surtass system speakers will be at depths between 285 to 515 feet. The waves will propagate approximately 100 miles diameter; meaning the sea life belt will be hit, and very hard.
SUBMARINE OPERATION DEPTHS
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CLASS
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DEPTH (FEET)
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FUEL TYPE
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ORIGIN/ NATION SOLD TO
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|
SEAWOLF
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800 – 2000
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NUCLEAR
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USA
|
|
VIRGINIA
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800 – 2000
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NUCLEAR
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USA
|
|
LOS ANGELES
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950 – 1475
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NUCLEAR
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USA
|
|
KILO CLASS
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780 – 975
|
DIESEL
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RUSSIA TO IRAN, CHINA, ++
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|
OSCAR I AND II ***
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975 – 1950
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NUCLEAR
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RUSSIA
|
|
AMUR 950 & 1650
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975
|
DIESEL
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RUSSIA FOR EXPORT
|
|
UNIFORM
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OVER 3000
|
NUCLEAR
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RUSSIA
|
|
U212
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APPROX 1330
|
DIESEL
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GERMANY
|
|
U214
|
OVER 1330
|
DIESEL
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GERMANY
|
|
SONG **
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APPROX 1000
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DIESEL
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CHINA
|
|
NETHERLANDS
|
|||
|
FRANCE
|
|||
|
SWEDEN
|
|||
|
UNITED KINGDOM
|
***NOTE: Have been spotted off Atlantic Coast of US in 2000, as well as Pacific coast, near Hawaii, sighting also in 1997. Also Units designated as K-119 and K-173 are “uanccounted for”.
**Capable of launcing anti-ship cruise missles while submerged
WHERE WILL LFA SONAR BE USED?
” These Iranian patrol subs, built to attack shipping or other subs, pose a fairly limited threat, especially in Gulf waters. As anyone who has flown over the Gulf knows, it is a very shallow sea. On sunny days (that is, usually) one often can see the bottom. That means anti-submarine aircraft or helicopters could readily spot a hostile sub trying to elude them. The Gulf is narrow as well: not only can the subs not hide, they can’t run very far either.
But no one believes the Iranians intend to deploy the subs permanently inside the Gulf. The fact that the first sub apparently will be berthed at Bandar Abbas for now is probably just a show of force and a bit of a challenge to the U.S. The permanent submarine base is expected to be at Chah Bahar on the Arabian Sea (part of the Indian Ocean). There Iranian submarines can patrol the approaches to the Gulf in deeper waters, where flight away or downward is easier.
Still, the threat is mostly to regional shipping in circumstances in which the United States or Western powers are not involved. The moment they interfere with world shipping to the point that the U.S. steps in, they are essentially doomed.”
Active sonar has been used since World War II, but the SURTASS LFA sonar is unique because its low frequencies allow the Navy to detect submarines over ranges more than five times as large as other systems. The Navy plans to deploy the system in about 80 percent of the world’s oceans, with two vessels each in the Pacific and Atlantic oceans. Although only one vessel is currently in operation-the R/V Cory Chouest stationed at Pearl Harbor-the Navy is scheduled to have four in deployment by the end of 2004. The Navy claims it needs LFA to replace its old passive sonar system in order to detect new, quieter submarines.
http://www.environment-hawaii.org/801will.htm
THE PHYSIOLOGICAL AND PSYCHOLOGICAL DAMAGES ASSOCIATED WITH LFA SONAR
Perhaps the most dramatic event suggesting that low-frequency sonar may be harmful occurred in May 1996 when at least 12 Cuvier’s beaked whales beached themselves in the Mediterranean-just as a NATO vessel, “The Alliance,” was conducting tests on a low-frequency active sonar system in the area. The signals of just under 230 decibels lasted 4 seconds and were repeated once every minute. Scientists later estimated that the whales received levels as high as 150 to 160 dB. They also noted that beaching for this type of whale is extremely rare. In addition, the stranding involved individuals scattered across an area rather than a single group. In a 1998 article in the science journal Nature, biologist Alexandros Frantzis calculated that the probability of the mass stranding occurring for reasons other than the sonar testing was less than 0.07 percent.
http://www.environment-hawaii.org/801will.htm
On October 25, a pygmy sperm whale calf, Kogia breviceps, in extremely poor condition was found on Ormond Beach near Daytona. There was no evidence of the mother of the calf and it appeared that it had not eaten for about one week. The calf was transported to Mote’s Dolphin and Whale Hospital by Hubb’s – SeaWorld and SeaWorld Adventure Park staff. On admission, it was found to be very near death suffering from extreme dehydration, malnutrition, and emaciation, as well as pneumonia and pulmonary edema, intestinal blockage, severe gastrointestinal infection and gastric ulcers.
October 2002 – Florida – http://www.mote.org/~cmanire/newsDec02.phtml#anchor
CURRENT SITUATION
WHAT IS ALFA?
HOW DOES ALFA SONAR ENDANGER WHALES AND DOLPHINS?
CURRENT SITUATION
LFA SONAR DEPLOYMENT AND THE IMPLICATIONS FOR LARGE SCALE EXTINCTION
SUMMARY
SEARCH KEYWORDS
Navy sonar, LFA, Sonar, Surtass, nations with submarines, whales and decibel range, alfa sonar,
BIBLIOGRAPHY
http://www.geocities.com/shootdaguy/commentsfeis/MarshaGreentoCongress.html
http://oceanlink.island.net/oceanmatters/sonar.html
http://www.oceanfutures.org/jmc/messages/lfa_qa.asp#e
http://www.acsonline.org/factpack/spermwhl.htm
http://users.skynet.be/RonSubCovers/New%20Articles.htm
http://www.surtass-lfa-eis.com/
http://www.thepubliccause.net/LoudSONARs3.html
http://www.carnegiemuseums.org/cmag/bk_issue/1997/julaug/feat4.htm
http://www.nrdc.org/wildlife/marine/nlfa.asp
http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2001/08/0815_wirenavyboom.html
http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/ship/deep.htm
http://members.tripod.com/~fidelispark/third/sub.htm
http://www.naval-technology.com/projects/type_212/
http://www.environment-hawaii.org/801will.htm
http://www.oceanfutures.org/jmc/messages/sounding_off_lfa_3.asp
http://www.noshmagazine.com/lfs.html
http://www.wdcs.org/
http://www.wdcs.org/dan/publishing.nsf/allweb/B1CB4A10E1FEF16680256D190058FBEC
http://www.gbrmpa.gov.au/corp_site/info_services/publications/whale_dolphin/
http://www.oceanfutures.org/jmc/messages/sounding_off_lfa_3.asp
http://www.worldwildlife.org/species/species.cfm?sectionid=193&newspaperid=21
http://www.acsonline.org/issues/ConservationRpts/Conservation0205.htm
http://physics.mtsu.edu/~wmr/log_1.htm
http://csiwhalesalive.org/csi03303.html
http://www.broekemaweb.nl/ecs/
http://www.ny4whales.org/sonar.html
http://www.saveourearth.co.uk/soe_enews.php?number=168
http://www.biscay-dolphin.org.uk/beaked_whales.htm
http://www.whalesongs.org/cetacean/sperm_whales/home.html
http://www.environment-hawaii.org/801will.htm
http://www.mote.org/~cmanire/newsDec02.phtml#anchor
http://www.cbc.ca/news/indepth/facts/russian_subs.html
http://www.fas.org/nuke/guide/russia/theater/949.htm
http://www.hazegray.org/worldnav/russia/submar.htm#ss
http://www.ckb-rubin.com/project/submarine/noatompl/
http://www.wisconsinproject.org/countries/china/subs.html
http://www.enchantedlearning.com/subjects/whales/species/Minke.shtml
http://www.magicalblend.com/library/newsletter/2002News/October042002/actnat.html
http://www.nrdc.org/wildlife/marine/nlfa.asp
http://www.environment-hawaii.org/801will.htm