Read the passage. Ocean Noise

When we think about the pollution of our oceans, many of us think of oil spills that dirty the waters and harm a variety of ocean life. Or, we might think of people in boats who litter the waters with their trash. After all, how many times in the news do we hear about ships that leak dangerous chemicals into the water? What we may not realize, though, is that there is another danger that is just as harmful to ocean life as any chemical or other dangerous material: ocean noise.

Many of us think of the oceans as silent places. On the contrary, they are filled with a variety of sounds. On any given day, one might hear the calls of dolphins as they swim through the waters. Whales use sounds to keep track of each other. Sea lions talk to each other to find food. Even the tiniest of shrimp make a snapping sound. There are also sounds caused by wind or rain upon the waters. Sound also plays an important role in the daily life of various ocean animals, many of which depend upon their sharp sound detection skills to survive. With increased activities by people on many of the oceans’ waters, the noise has increased so much that it is beginning to cause damage to the oceans as well as to the animals that live in them.

Ocean noise is the term used to describe the human-made noise occurring at increasing rates in the ocean. The noise comes from many different sources: large ships, small boats with motors, and jet skis, among others. There are also underwater exploration activities such as mining, as well as radar activities of ships. One of the most harmful types of ocean noise occurs with offshore oil drilling and seismic oil explorations. Air guns are instruments that are used to determine the location of oil and natural gas beneath the sea floor. They make a sound that can damage the hearing of ocean animals.

We know that sound travels faster in water than it does in air. This means that sounds in the oceans can travel for many, many miles in a short period of time. Unfortunately, sounds made by people are much louder than sounds made by ocean animals.

What this means is that sounds caused by noisy engines or radar equipment used by ships can upset the everyday activities of the creatures that live in the ocean. For instance, humpback whales use songs to talk to each other. Scientists have discovered that the whales’ system of “talking” can be disturbed by loud noises. This makes it harder for the whales to find each other. The stranding of whales and dolphins has been found to increase immediately after naval sonar maneuvers. Sea lions are another type of animal that depends on sounds to communicate with other sea lions. Ocean noise can make it difficult for them to find food. Ocean noise can disturb migration routes of whales and other animals that travel to different places.

However, scientists and other researchers are working hard to find a solution to this threat to marine life. Since 2003, the use of low-frequency active (LFA) sonar equipment by the United States Navy has been tightly limited because its effects have been shown to cause harm to many ocean animals. NOAA (National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration) has released a plan to reduce ocean noise that will work better than past attempts to reduce the noise.

Other people are helping as well. Some fishing companies use special equipment that makes a “pinging” sound to keep certain kinds of ocean life from getting caught in its fishing nets. The National Park Service completed a study that tracked tour cruise ships and made an effort to reduce the number of tours. They also tried to increase the “quiet time” for humpback whales by scheduling tours farther apart.

Local conservation groups are also asking people to be more careful about using jet skis, motorboats, and other equipment that might disturb areas where ocean life is particularly fragile. Also, closer attention is being paid to where ships are traveling to make sure that, whenever possible, they stay away from waters where large numbers of ocean animals live.

With the increase in ocean noise, measures must be taken to control or, at the very least, curb its growth.

What argument does the author make in "Ocean Noise"?

The ocean noise created by marine life is more detrimental than noise created by humans.

Oil spills are still much more dangerous than ocean noise.

Ocean noise has increased slightly. but it is not affecting marine life.

Human activity has greatly increased ocean noise to the detriment of marine life.