“Whales blasted by military sonar appear to die of the bends. The finding suggests the use of sound waves to detect submarines under the sea might need to be restricted.

Scientists from Spain and Britain have uncovered the first evidence that cetaceans suffer from the formation of nitrogen bubbles in their vital organs. This is a classic symptom of the decompression sickness suffered by divers who surface too quickly, and can be fatal.” —New Scientist The association between large-scale naval exercises and large-scale whale beachings has been noted before; this may explain why. Deep-diving whales startled by sonar may surface precipitously, causing the decompression disease which can be fatal; or the sonar’s sound waves may actually hasten nitrogen bubble formation. I had assumed that the sonar was disrupting the whales’ inner ear mechanisms, which actually may not be incompatible with the present explanation.