2008 Defense Bill Includes $72-Million for Hawaii-based Research

Washington, -- The U.S. House today authorized $72 million in funding recommended by Rep. Neil Abercrombie for military research and testing in Hawaii as part of the $504-billion 2008 National Defense Authorization Act.  Hawaii research contracts include critical studies into the possible effects of naval sonar systems on whales and dolphins, and the development of electronic systems to detect the presence of marine mammals in naval training areas.

"This funding will help maintain Hawaii's high-tech community role as an engine in the growth of our local economy," said Abercrombie, who chairs the House Armed Services Subcommittee on Air and Land Forces.  "This is also recognition once again of Hawaii's vital position in national defense and security."

Two of the studies will probe the effects of underwater sound on the behavior of marine mammals, such as whales and dolphins - a problem that temporarily halted an annual international naval exercise in waters off Hawaii last year.

One of the projects will explore marine mammal hearing and the effects of sonar systems.  The project will be led by Dr. Paul Nachtigall of the Hawaii Institute of Marine Biology, one of the premier facilities in the world for scientific research on the hearing and echolocation of marine mammals.  The Hawaii insitute is located in Kaneohe, on Oahu's Coconut Island.  Nachtigall says Rep. Abercrombie's targeting of $2.3 million to the institute will reap benefits far beyond Hawaii.

"The development of more effective submarine detection systems for the Navy, commercial shipments, oceanographic research and energy exploration all utilize the introduction of acoustic energy into the oceans," said Nachtigall.  "But, while public concern over the effects of sonar on whales and dolphins is growing, the availability of reliable data from independent, academically sound, and established research on the effects of sound on marine mammals has been lacking."

"Data produced by this program are essential to Navy environmental programs, the establishment of safe active sonar and the well-being of marine mammals,"  added Abercrombie.

Abercrombie also recommended $6.24 million for further research, development and installation of marine mammal detection systems on Navy aircraft, which would survey naval training areas before active sonar is used, to help ships avoid harming dolphins and whales.  BAE Systems in Hawaii has been involved in the development of an airborne survey system that automatically and harmlessly detects the presence, location, and movement of marine mammals.

"This project allows BAE System to adapt work done for the United Kingdom Ministry of Defense to the needs of the U.S. Navy, and integrate it with sensor technology developed by BAE Systems in Hawaii for real-time observation updates," said Galen Ho, a BAE Systems consultant who has been instrumental in the program.  "We intend to test this new system capability here in Hawaii within the confines of the Pacific Missile Range Facility on Kauai."

Other research funding recommended by Abercrombie and authorized by the House includes $8 million for sonar mapping, water quality testing and analysis in the areas where the U.S. military dumped tons of chemical munitions into the ocean at the end of World War II, and eleven different projects totaling more than $42 million for defense research and the development of laser communication, new sensor technologies and advanced systems to detect explosives and biological contamination.

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