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[email protected] AEI Special Report: Ocean Noise 2009 Science, Policy, Legal Developments Contents 2 Introduction 4 Naval active sonars Navy continues to roll out EISs for training ranges New instrumented range off Florida faces challenges 12 Seismic surveys Academic surveys trigger oversized outrage Oil and gas industry surveys continue unfettered; increasing environmental focus from industry 18 Shipping noise AEI Resource Collection: Shipping noise symposia and reports, 2005-2009 26 The revolution in passive acoustic monitoring New research opportunities, new questions that can be asked AEI Resource Collection: Platforms for remote recording 35 Research briefs, 2009 42 What to keep an eye (ear) on in 2010 45 About the Acoustic Ecology Institute Photos: Scripps HARP autonomous recorder: Sean Wiggins Seaglider: University of Washington Ocean observatory schematic: NOAA In this, AEI’s fourth annual overview of ocean noise, we take a simpler approach than in the last couple of years. This time, we include brief overviews of two ongoing areas of attention — seismic surveys and active sonars — as well as a recap of the most interesting research from 2009. For the first time, we feature in-depth “AEI Resource Collections” on two key topics, shipping noise and passive acoustic research platforms. For those of you new to ocean noise issues, I’d recommend reading this recap along with the 2008 version, which has more detail in some key areas that are given only a brief look this year. As ever, the Acoustic Ecology Institute’s primary mission is to “translate” complex science and regulatory developments for the general public.