Sonar Blast

Well, most nights the Lime Kiln hydrophones are busy picking up the passing freighters and other ship traffic plying Haro Strait. But last night, an unexpected visitor made it's presence known in a loud way. After being alerted by Jeanne that she was hearing strange sounds, I hit record on my computer. Metallic voices could be heard speaking a string of numbers, letters, and words. I could only make out a few of them. Then came the blasts of sonar pings. So loud that my ears rang. You can clearly hear the echo of the blasts for up to 7 seconds after the initial sound. A call to the Bellingham Coast Guard station confirmed that there was a submarine in the area, but they could not tell us what it was doing. This event went from 7 PM Tuesday night until around 4:30 am Wednesday morning. Others confirmed to me that they had noticed a greatly increased presence of Coast Guard cutters and helicopters around Whidbey Island.

More concerning though was the fact that the last few days, we've had quite a few transient orcas in the area. While listening to the Naval sonar, I was able to turn down the volume to a comfortable level. I can only imagine how painful that must be for the cetaceans in the area. I would not be surprised at all to learn that anyone going out today for a wildlife cruise finds no porpoises or whales in the area.

I'm a bit perplexed that the Navy would decide to do sonar exercises in an area well-known for cetacean presence. But even more surprised that they would do it in an area that is also well-known for having 4 hydrophones in the water that are pretty much monitored 24/7, and that these hydrophones stream onto the Internet for everyone in the world to listen to.

Someone opined to me that perhaps this is a reaction to the Korean missile thing that happened last week. I only know the broad strokes of that as I am somewhat blissfully unaware of world events right now as my life is too busy studying or working!

Here's the shortened version of what transpired last night.