Why are whales stranding on beaches?

After 40 years of dedicated research, my group has finally solved the centuries old stranding mystery.

We agree with some of finding above but have major difference as detailed below:

Feeding on squid along earthquake prone Mid Ocean Ridges exposes pods of whales to violent underwater earthquakes. In 70% of these events, the motion in the seafloor is side-to-side and relatively slow. Such sideways motion “slides” through the water like a boat paddle turned on edge and is usually harmless to any nearby whales. On the other hand, when the hard bottom dances up and down violently, the vertical thrusting turns a small portion of the seafloor into the faceplate of a gigantic sonar transducer, pushing and pulling the water column, generating changes in the surrounding pressure that, in extreme cases, may approach 280 decibels re 1 micro PA (14,500 psi) one meter off the bottom. These waves of alternating pressure quickly dissipate as the energy fans out above the epicenter but still may easily exceed 200 pounds per square inch 500 meters off the bottom.

The speed (acceleration) of the vertical thrusting determines the danger faced by the diving whales, not the magnitude of the earthquake. This is so because extremely rapid up and down jerking builds areas of high pressure directly above the epicenter before the water has a chance to flow to the sides.

Just as it would be if a large group of scuba divers were suddenly exposed to rapid pressure changes from a nearby explosion, a pod of diving whales caught off-guard by rapid and excessive changes in the surrounding water pressure during thrusting earthquakes are subject to barotraumatic injury in their head and middle ear sinuses when the rapid changes in pressure exceed their ability to adjust.

Of particular concern are the small air sacs (pterygoid sinuses) that surround each cochlea and help the whales sense sound direction underwater. The oscillating seismic waves (called T-Phase Waves by scientists) would cause the volume of air in these sinuses to expand and contract to the point of rupture, leading to the failure of biosonar. An earthquake-injured whale could hear sounds perfectly well, but would not be able to determine from which direction the sounds came. Ruptured sinuses would also disrupt feeding since the injury would prevent the whales from diving to the depth of their prey due to extreme pain.

Diving-related injuries of this nature are far more common than one would imagine. The injured pods are forced to remain on the surface until their sinuses heal and they can resume diving and feeding. Recovery may occur in days, in weeks, or not at all depending on the degree of injury and the availability of food on or near the surface.

Offshore whales normally fix their location along the Mid Ocean Ridges by “listening” to the constant seismic rumble going on below them. Once the sinuses are ruptured and this tool is lost, so is the pod.

The flow of the surface currents working against the streamlined body of each lost whale turns the animal head first in a downstream direction in a similar fashion as a weather vane points into the wind. In other words, the lost pod can not help but swim downstream in the path of least resistance. In fact, they are eventually stirred by the reduced resistance into the fastest downstream flow and remain in the center of this invisible river of water until something stops their forward progress. Thus, the swim path of the wounded pod during their recovery is controlled by the surface currents and the wind and nothing else--especially not a geomagnetic compass. Beached whales are carried to the beach by the same force that carried each grain of sand to build the beach in the first place.

Geographic land masses that extend out to see opposing the flow of current, like Cape Cod in the US and Golden Bay in New Zealand, serve as giant catching arm, guiding the non-navigating whales into a sand trap.
The wounded pod naturally attracts the attention of large oceanic sharks that move in to take stragglers. Big sharks feed on big wounded whales, not squid. The hungry sharks dog these pods like wolves dog a herd of caribou, forcing them to huddle together for protection and to continue to swim in a steady downstream direction.

Many pods recovery within a few days. Others within a few weeks. Those that do not recover stand an excellent chance that the surface currents will carry them to a sandy beach.

In summary, the SEAQUAKE SOLUTION developed by CAPT David Williams, founder of the Deafwhale Society, indicates that barotrauma, as a result of exposure to potent earthquake-induced changes in ambient pressure, solves the centuries old mystery of why whales and dolphins mass strand on beaches around the world.  

http://www.deafwhale.com/stranded_whale/