The Search for Sandy is Noisy

Geological and Water Survey and NJDEP funded survey program to identify sand resources off the coast of New Jersey fit for harvest by the US Army Corps of Engineers for beach replenishment activities. The proposed survey is much smaller in scale, magnitude, and scope than the proposed ocean blasting for oil and gas deposits in the Mid and South Atlantic, and even smaller in size and power than last summer’s Rutgers University led seismic survey.

Recently, COA met with the program leads at NJDEP headquarters, and is continuing to evaluate the proposal and its potential impacts. What has become very clear over the last several years of working on these related issues is the need for more in-depth studies on the impacts of seismic surveying equipment and other sound sources on the marine environment.