The Supreme Court has ruled that the US Navy will be allowed to conduct Anti-Submarine Warfare (ASW) Exercises off the California coast using active Sonar. This, despite established links of active sonar to beached whales, internal bleeding around marine mammals’ brains and ears, and other physiological damage. The Gang of Five were involved in this awful decision, just as one would expect. Chief Justice Roberts wrote the majority opinion and was joined by Alito, Kennedy, Scalia and Thomas. Justice Stevens agreed with the result, but did not join the majority.

Active Sonar, which locates submarines by transmitting acoustic waveforms at extremely loud source levels, is the mainstay of the Navy’s Littoral ASW effort. It is well suited to detecting the new generation of Diesel Electric and Closed Combined Cycle Submarines, which are extremely quiet, thus very challenging to detect using Passive Sonar, which listens for sound radiated from the Submarine. Nuclear Subs have a major drawback, from a detectability standpoint, which is the support machinery required for the Nuclear Reactor. The Main Coolant Pump for the Reactor can never be turned off, we saw at Three Mile Island what happens when a Reactor loses cooling. Whereas listening for a Submarine running on batteries has been compared to listening for a flashlight.

The Sonar at issue is the Surveillance Towed Array Sensor System (SURTASS) Low Frequency Active (LFA) sonar. The loudness at which these Sonars are capable of transmitting is simply staggering. The acoustic output is measured in dB/1 uPA and an increase of 3dB is equivalent to a 100% increase in sound intensity (loudness). The output of the LFA is the loudest human produced sound and is comparable in intensity to a Saturn V Rocket, which is used to lift a Space Shuttle to Orbit. It has no place in the Ocean wounding and killing endangered species, especially when there is no submarine threat to justify it’s use. It is not in our National Interest to do so, despite what the Gang of Five Supremes may believe.