Updated Literature Review on Seismic Survey Impacts on Marine Life

A literature review synthesizes over 70 peer-reviewed scientific studies on the impacts of marine seismic survey noise on fish and invertebrates. The report, updated in 2026 by Geoscience Australia with collaborators, critically analyzes recent data to inform Australian government policy and environmental management.

Use Cases

• Analyze findings from 70 studies on impulsive low-frequency sound impacts to identify common effects on fish and invertebrate species.
• Compare experimental designs, such as laboratory versus field-based before-after-control-impact studies, documented in the reviewed literature.
• Assess research gaps highlighted in the review, including the need for studies on population and ecosystem-scale impacts versus individual organisms.
• Evaluate recommended measures for future research, such as modeling population consequences or studying interactions with other environmental stressors.

Strengths

• Synthesizes evidence from over 70 peer-reviewed scientific studies.
• Updated critical review incorporating data published in the four years prior to the 2026 update.
• Collaborative work by authoritative organizations Geoscience Australia, Curtin University, and CSIRO.

Limitations

• Data is a synthesized literature review, not primary tabular or observational data for direct computational analysis.
• The report is in PDF format, requiring manual extraction or text processing for structured data analysis.
• Focus is primarily on fish and invertebrates, with noted gaps regarding a wider range of marine species.

Provenance

Source

Geoscience Australia, in collaboration with Curtin University and CSIRO.

Collection Method

Critical synthesis and review of published scientific literature.

Time Range

Studies reviewed span up to the four years prior to the 2026 update.

Freshness

Last updated March 2026.

Geography

Global scientific literature, with focus on informing Australian government and environmental management.