Air-guns used in offshore oil exploration can kill tiny marine life

摘要

Powerful sound waves created during offshore surveys for oil and gas can kill microscopic animals at the base of the ocean food chain, according to a new study. And these lethal effects travel much farther than ecologists had previously assumed. Researchers fear that damage to these animals, collectively known as zooplankton, could harm top predators and commercially important species of fish that depend on such species for food.