Posts tagged with

marine mammals

Three Ways to Assess Marine Mammals During Oil Spills

Posted Tue, 01/21/2020 - 14:01
By Megan Ewald, Office of Response and Restoration

Since thousands of oil spills of varying sizes occur in U.S. waters each year, oil spill scientists must be prepared to respond to and assess the impacts of oil on marine mammals. To do this, the NOAA has published: "Guidelines for Assessing Exposure and Impacts of Oil Spills on Marine Mammals," which is available for the public on the NOAA Central Library website. These guidelines provide a review of considerations for marine mammals under NOAA's jurisdiction, incorporating knowledge gained from previous oil spills.

Gray Whale Deaths on the Rise: How OR&R Provides Support During an Unusual Mortality Event

Posted Wed, 06/26/2019 - 18:56

When the phone rings at OR&R’s Emergency Response Division, it’s usually for an oil spill — but not always. OR&R supports incident responses in a number of ways, one of which is to provide trajectories and model where the oil will go. But what about for something other than oil? What happens when one of the ocean’s largest inhabitants washes up on shore? OR&R’s modeling capabilities are again called upon to help decide what to do next. 

When You Can’t Look, Listen: How Passive Acoustic Monitoring Can Locate Whales After Oil Spills

Posted Wed, 02/13/2019 - 15:06
By Megan Ewald, Office of Response and Restoration

Listen, the ocean is full of sound. From the tip-tap of scuttling shellfish, to the echoing songs of baleen whales, many kinds of marine life use sound to navigate their underwater world. For scientists, it’s sometimes easier to hear marine creatures than it is to see them.

How Marine Debris is Impacting Marine Animals and What You Can do About it……

Posted Wed, 08/09/2017 - 16:08

This week, NOAA’s Office of Response and Restoration looks at the impacts of pollutants on wildlife and endangered species. We’ll explore tools we’ve developed to map sensitive species and habitats, how marine debris endangers marine life, how restoring toxic waste sites improves the health of wildlife, and the creation of a mobile wildlife hospital.