NBC News | 05/13/2022
The low-frequency sonar of warships and submarines directly interferes with dolphins’ echolocation, leaving them unable to navigate, scientists say.
ISTANBUL — Mass dolphin deaths have scientists worried that pollution from Russia’s war in Ukraine could have lasting impacts on ecosystems in the region.
More than 100 dolphins have washed up on the Turkish coast since February, a high number compared to previous years, according to Uğur Özsandıkçı, lead researcher of marine life at Sinop University, in a Turkish city south of Crimea. Dolphins have also recently been spotted acting unusually in other countries sharing the coastline. Local marine biologists suspect that a driving cause is likely noise pollution from warships in the north.
The low-frequency sonar of warships and submarines directly interferes with dolphins’ echolocation, said Pavel Goldin, a marine biologist specializing in dolphins at the Schmalhausen Institute of Zoology in Ukraine. Unable to navigate, the dolphins cannot identify prey and can therefore starve. They can also get confused and panic, accidentally swimming into rocks or onto shore. Some might also swim into naval mines, triggering their explosion, or could be killed by live fire.
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Naomi Cohen | journalist 