The Navy's Super Sonar
Sonar testing harms marine life, but the Navy won't stop
There were a few factual things blended into Animal Planet's "Mermaids: The Body Found" mock-umentary that aired this weekend. One of these is the existence of Navy testing their so-called "super sonar" underwater, to the detriment of marine life. I worry that the mermaids special has done this issue a disservice, and that a lot of people will write it off as being as fictional as the rest of the show.
But super sonar is real, and the Navy refuses to stop it.
Super sonar is just like regular sonar, but a lot louder. Imagine you are standing blindfolded in an empty room. Even without special training, if you clap your hands loudly, you can hear about how big the room is. For example, you would be able to tell if the room is closer in size to a supply closet or an auditorium. Your brain automatically calculates the information, based on how and how fast the echo of the sound returns to your ears.
