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Published online 2 January 2008 | Nature 451, 3 (2008) | doi:10.1038/451003a
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Airgun ban halts seismic tests
Whales sink plan for survey off the Canadian coast.
Geologists hoping to study Earth's crust off the coast of British Columbia have reached an impasse with the Canadian government, delaying their long-planned research projects. Canada has not issued permits for geological work using airguns — which fire bursts of air into the ocean — on the basis that it may disturb marine life, including whales.
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I'm surprised that an applicant seems to expect regulatory assurance that an environmental permit will be issued before preparing the application. Is this how permitting works in the USA? By the way, the first phase of NEPTUNE Canada's seafloor observatory, the cable backbone, is already in the water. The second phase, the seafloor electronic nodes, are scheduled for summer, 2008.
Mr. Dalton mentions, "Results from a US study on this conducted in summer 2007 have yet to be published." Would you please name the agency publishing this report?