ENVIRONMENT REPORT - Compromise on U.S. Navy Sonar

ENVIRONMENT REPORT - November 22, 2002: Compromise on U.S. Navy Sonar

By Cynthia Kirk

This is the VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT.

The United States Navy has agreed to temporarily limit testing of a new low-frequency sound wave device it
wants to use on ships in the world’s oceans. This sonar device is used to find enemy submarines at great
distances. The agreement is a compromise between the Navy and environmental groups. The groups took legal
action to halt the testing of the new sonar system. They said the noise from the device would injure or kill whales
and other animals that live in the oceans.

Last month, a federal judge blocked the Navy from using the sonar because it possibly violated environmental
protection laws. However, the judge also agreed with the Navy’s claim that banning the new sonar system could
harm military readiness. She ordered the two sides to work out a plan that would balance environmental and
military concerns.

Under the new agreement, the Navy will test the new sonar system for seven months. The agreement limits
testing of the sonar to a much smaller area of the northwestern Pacific Ocean than the Navy had planned. The
area is not likely to have many large ocean animals.

The new sonar system works by sending sound waves through the water. When the sound waves hit an object, its
presence is confirmed. The new sonar can find objects ten times farther away than the sonar used now. The Navy
wants to use the new system in about eighty percent of the world’s oceans. The noise from the sonar is about as
loud as a large airplane leaving the ground.

Concern about the effects of the Navy’s sonar has increased in recent years. More than fifteen whales and a
dolphin were found trapped on land along several coasts two years ago. At least six of the whales and the dolphin
died. The Navy had used very loud sonar devices in deep waters around the Bahama Islands.

The National Marine¹ Fisheries Service and the Navy investigated the incident. The investigators² said the noise
from the sonar led to the deaths of the ocean animals. Investigators found that the whales’ ears had been
severely³ damaged by the loud sounds of the sonar. They found bleeding around their brains and ear bones.
However, the Navy said that the type of sonar used in the Bahamas was different from the low-frequency systems
it now wants to deploy⁴.

This VOA Special English ENVIRONMENT REPORT was written by Cynthia Kirk.

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1 marine   

adj.海的；海生的；航海的；海事的；n.水兵

参考例句：

• Marine creatures are those which live in the sea. 海洋生物是生存在海里的生物。
• When the war broke out,he volunteered for the Marine Corps.战争爆发时，他自愿参加了海军陆战队。

2 investigators   

n.调查者，审查者( investigator的名词复数 )

参考例句：

• This memo could be the smoking gun that investigators have been looking for. 这份备忘录可能是调查人员一直在寻找的证据。
• The team consisted of six investigators and two secretaries. 这个团队由六个调查人员和两个秘书组成。 来自《简明英汉词典》

3 severely   

adv.严格地；严厉地；非常恶劣地

参考例句：

• He was severely criticized and removed from his post.他受到了严厉的批评并且被撤了职。
• He is severely put down for his careless work.他因工作上的粗心大意而受到了严厉的批评。

4 deploy   

v.（军）散开成战斗队形，布置，展开

参考例句：

• The infantry began to deploy at dawn.步兵黎明时开始进入战斗位置。
• The president said he had no intention of deploying ground troops.总统称并不打算部署地面部队。