3S: Behavioral Response Studies of Cetaceans to Navy Sonar Signals in Norwegian Waters

Another goal of the program is to assess the effectiveness of “ramp-up,” a common mitigation protocol in which source levels are gradually increased prior to the onset of full-level transmissions. Ramp-up is thought to give nearby animals some time to move away before sonar transmissions reach maximum levels. However, it is unknown whether or not this protocol is actually effective. We have developed a new experimental design to test whether ‘ramp-up’ is an effective protocol to reduce risk of harm and our goal is to conduct experiments to test the effectiveness of ramp-up in humpback whales.