50412 Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 169 / Friday, August 31, 2007 / Notices 

1. Applicant: Andrea Polli, 43–01 21st 

Street, #300, Long Island City, NY 

11101. 

Permit Application No.: 2008–001. 

Activity for Which Permit Is 

Requested: Enter Antarctic Specially 

Protected Areas. The applicant is a 

participant in the Artists and Writers 

Program and will work with scientists 

gathering and modeling environmental 

data as part of the McMurdo Dry Valleys 

Long Term Ecological Research Project. 

One aspect of the project relates to the 

history of the area. Therefore the 

applicant wishes to visit the McMurdo 

Sound area historic huts at Discovery 

Hut (ASPA #158), Cape Evans (ASPA 

#155) and Cape Royds (ASPA #157) for 

video and photographic documentation. 

Location: Discovery Hut (ASPA #158), 

Cape Evans (ASPA #155) and Cape 

Royds (ASPA #157). 

Dates: December 1, 2007 to January 

10, 2008. 

2. Applicant: Robert A. Garrott, 

Ecology Department, Montana State 

University, 310 Lewis Hall, Bozeman, 

MT 59715. 

Permit Application No.: 2008–016. 

Activity for Which Permit Is 

Requested: Take, Import into the U.S.A. 

and Enter Antarctic Specially Protected 

Area (ASPA). The applicant plans to 

capture, tag, weigh and collect small 

skin and muscle samples from up to 280 

adult and pup Weddell seals, in order 

to evaluate how temporal variation in 

the marine environment affects a longlived mammal’s population dynamics. 

In addition, the applicant proposes to 

visit the White Island Antarctic 

Specially Protected Area (ASPA #137) 

to census and tag seals in this isolated 

colony. 

Location: McMurdo Sound sea ice 

and Northwest White Island (ASPA 

#127). 

Dates: October 1, 2007 to February 15, 

2012. 

Nadene G. Kennedy, 

Permit Officer, Office of Polar Programs. 

[FR Doc. E7–17234 Filed 8–30–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Notice of the Availability of a Draft 

Environmental Assessment 

AGENCY: National Science Foundation. 

ACTION: Notice of availability of a draft 

Environmental Assessment for proposed 

activities in the Eastern Pacific Ocean 

and Caribbean Sea near Central 

America. 

SUMMARY: The National Science 

Foundation (NSF) gives notice of the 

availability of a draft Environmental 

Assessment (EA) for proposed activities 

in the Eastern Pacific Ocean and 

Caribbean Sea near Central America. 

The Division of Ocean Sciences in the 

Directorate for Geosciences (GEO/OCE) 

has prepared a draft Environmental 

Assessment for a marine geophysical 

survey by the Research Vessel Marcus G 

Langseth in the Eastern Pacific Ocean 

and Caribbean Sea near Central 

America, in the Exclusive Economic 

Zones of Costa Rica and Nicaragua 

(water depths from <100 meters to 

>2500 meters) during January–March 

2008, The draft Environmental 

Assessment is available for public 

review for a 30-day period. 

DATES: Comments must be submitted on 

or before October 1, 2007. 

ADDRESSES: Copies of the draft 

Environmental Assessment are available 

upon request from: Dr. William Lang, 

National Science Foundation, Division 

of Ocean Sciences, 4201 Wilson Blvd., 

Suite 725, Arlington, VA 22230. 

Telephone: (703) 292–7857. The draft is 

also available on the agency’s Web site 

at: http://www.nsf.gov/geo/oce/pubs/ 

MGL_Central_America_2008_EA.pdf. 

SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION: LamontDoherty Earth Observatory (LDEO), with 

research funding from the NSF, plans to 

conduct a marine seismic survey in the 

Eastern Pacific Ocean and Caribbean 

Sea near Central America during 2008. 

The research program will take place in 

the Exclusive Economic Zones of Costa 

Rica and Nicaragua. The surveys will 

use a towed airgun array consisting of 

up to 36 operating airguns with a 

maximum discharge volume of ~6600 

in3. They will take place in waters from 

<100 meters to >2500 meters deep. 

LDEO plans to conduct this seismic 

survey as part of the ‘‘Subduction 

Factory,’’ or ‘‘SubFac’’ initiative of 

NSF’s MARGINS program. The SubFac 

initiative will determine the inputs, 

outputs, and controlling processes of 

subduction zone systems by obtaining 

seismic measurements of magma flux, 

are composition, and lower-plate 

serpentinization at the Central 

American Focus Site. Subduction zones, 

which mark sites of convective 

downwelling of the Earth’s lithosphere, 

exist at convergent plate boundaries 

where one plate of oceanic lithosphere 

converges with another plate and sinks 

below into the mantle. It is at these 

subduction zones that the oceanic crust 

and associated sediments are recycled 

into the deep mantle. Although this 

mixing of the Earth’s crustal and 

oceanic materials produces ore deposits 

and new continental crust in the long 

term, the immediate result is geological 

activity often expressed as deep, very 

intense earthquakes and extensive 

volcanism. 

The seismic survey will investigate 

the volcanic are, back are, and 

downgoing plate in the Costa Rican 

portion of the Central American Focus 

Site. The study focuses on the central 

Costa Rican segment of the are, the site 

of important transitions in lava 

chemistry, because the narrow isthmus 

~150 km or 93 mi wide) is well-suited 

for detailed seismic imaging using 

onshore-offshore techniques. A systemic 

understanding of subduction must 

include a thorough knowledge of the 

volcanic are, which in turn is essential 

in understanding the geochemical 

recycling processes of the Central 

American SubFac. 

To investigate the Central American 

SubFac, seismic survey transects are 

proposed across the isthmus in Costa 

Rica, along the Costa Rican arc and 

back-arc, the outer rise of the Cocos 

Plate, and the Nicaragua Rise. The crossarc transect will involve use of seismic 

sources in both the Pacific and 

Caribbean. To understand arc-building 

processes, the delineation of lateral 

heterogeneity in crustal thickness and 

velocity at scales of tens of kilometers 

is required, both across and along-arc. In 

order to achieve this, the study will 

acquire (1) A double-side, onshoreoffshore cross-arc profile, (2) an alongarc refraction line, (3) an array of 

seismometers in the arc to record all 

onshore and offshore shots and to allow 

3-dimensional (3D) tomography, and (4) 

a refraction survey across the outer rise 

of the downgoing Cocos Plate. 

The marine program will consist of 

∼2149 km of unique survey lines—753 

km in the Caribbean and 1396 km in the 

Pacific. With the exception of two lines 

located in shallow to intermediatedepth water, all lines will be shot twice, 

once at a ∼50-m (20-s) shot spacing for 

multichannel seismic (MCS) data and 

once at a ∼200-m (80-s) shot spacing for 

ocean bottom seismometer (OBS) 

refraction data, for a total of ∼3980 km 

of survey lines. There will be additional 

operations associated with equipment 

testing, startup, line changes, and repeat 

coverage of any areas where initial data 

quality is sub-standard. 

LDEO has applied for the issuance of 

an Incidental Harassment Authorization 

(IHA) from the National Marine 

Fisheries Service (NMFS) to authorize 

the incidental harassment of small 

numbers of marine mammals during the 

seismic survey. The information in this 

Environmental Assessment supports the 

IHA permit application process, 

provides information on marine species 

not covered by the IHA, and addresses 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES
Federal Register / Vol. 72, No. 169 / Friday, August 31, 2007 / Notices 50413 

the requirements of Executive Order 

12114, ‘‘Environmental Effects Abroad 

of Major Federal Actions’’. Alternatives 

addressed in this EA consist of a 

corresponding seismic survey at a 

different time, along with issuance of an 

associated IHA; and the no action 

alternative, with no IHA and no seismic 

survey. 

Numerous species of marine 

mammals occur off Central America. 

Several of the cetacean species are listed 

as endangered under the U.S. 

Endangered Species Act (ESA), 

including humpback, sei, fin, blue, and 

sperm whales. In addition, the 

endangered West Indian manatee is 

known to occur in shallow waters along 

the Caribbean coast of Central America. 

Sea turtle species known to occur in 

Central America include the endangered 

leatherback and hawksbill turtles, the 

threatened loggerhead turtle, the green 

turtle (considered endangered in the 

breeding colony of Florida and the 

Pacific coast of Mexico and threatened 

elsewhere), and the olive ridley turtle 

(designated as endangered in the 

breeding colony of the Pacific coast of 

Mexico and threatened elsewhere). The 

Kemp’s ridley turtle may also occur in 

the Caribbean. 

The potential impacts of the seismic 

surveys would be primarily a result of 

the operation of airguns, although a 

multi-beam sonar and a sub-bottom 

profiler will also be operated. Impacts 

may include increased marine noise and 

resultant avoidance behavior by marine 

mammals, sea turtles, and fish; and 

other forms of disturbance. The 

operations of the project vessel during 

the study would also a minor increase 

in the amount of vessel traffic. An 

integral part of the planned survey is a 

monitoring and mitigation program 

designed to minimize the impacts of the 

proposed activities on marine mammals 

and sea turtles that may be present 

during the proposed research, and to 

document the nature and extent of any 

effects. Injurious impacts to marine 

mammals and sea turtles have not been 

proven to occur near airgun arrays; 

however the planned monitoring and 

mitigation measures would minimize 

the possibility of such effects should 

they otherwise occur. 

Protection measures designed to 

mitigate the potential environmental 

impacts will include the following: A 

minimum of one dedicated marine 

mammal observer maintaining a visual 

watch during all daytime airgun 

operations, and two observers for 30 

min before start up. A passive acoustic 

monitoring (PAM) array will be 

monitored 24 h per day while at the 

survey area during airgun operations 

and during most times when the 

Langseth is underway while the airguns 

are not operating. The use of ramp-up, 

as well as implementation of powerdown or shut-down procedures when 

animals approach a designated 

exclusion zone (EZ) are also important 

mitigation measures. LDEO and its 

contractors are committed to apply 

those measures in order to minimize 

disturbance of marine mammals and sea 

turtles, and also to minimize the risk of 

injuries or of other environmental 

impacts. 

With the planned monitoring and 

mitigation measures, unavoidable 

impacts to each of the species of marine 

mammal that might be encountered are 

expected to be limited to short-term 

localized changes in behavior and 

distribution near the seismic vessel. At 

most, such effects may be interpreted as 

falling within the Marine Mammal 

Protection Act (MMPA) definition of 

‘‘Level B Harassment’’ for those species 

managed by NMFS. No long-term or 

significant effects are expected on 

individual marine mammals, or the 

populations to which they belong, or 

their habitats. The agency is currently 

consulting with the NMFS regarding 

species within their jurisdiction 

potentially affected by this proposed 

activity. 

Copies of the draft EA, titled 

‘‘Environmental Assessment of a Marine 

Geophysical Survey by the R/V Marcus 

G. Langseth off Central America, 

January–March 2008,’’ are available 

upon request from: Dr. William Lang, 

National Science Foundation, Division 

of Ocean Sciences, 4201 Wilson Blvd., 

Suite 725, Arlington, VA 22230. 

Telephone: (703) 292–7857 or at the 

agency’s Web site at: http:// 

www.nsf.gov/geo/oce/pubs/ 

MGI_Central_America_2008_EA.pdf. 

The NSF invites interested members of 

the public to provide written comments 

on this draft EA. 

Dated: August 27, 2007. 

Dr. Alexander Shor, 

Program Director, Oceanographic 

Instrumentation and Technical Services, 

Division of Ocean Sciences, National Science 

Foundation. 

[FR Doc. 07–4267 Filed 8–30–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–M 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Advisory Committee for Environmental 

Research and Education; Notice of 

Meeting 

In accordance with the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–

463, as amended), the National Science 

Foundation announces the following 

meeting: 

Name: Advisory Committee for 

Environmental Research and Education 

(9487). 

Dates: October 17, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. and 

October 18, 2007, 9 a.m.–2:30 p.m. 

Place: Stafford I, Room 1235, National 

Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., 

Arlington, Virginia 22230. 

Type of Meeting: Open. 

For Further Information Contact: Alan 

Tessier, National Science Foundation, 4201 

Wilson Blvd., Suite 635, Arlington, Virginia 

22230, Phone: 703–292–7198. 

If you are attending the meeting and need 

access to the NSF, please contact the 

individual listed above so your name may be 

added to the building access list. 

Minutes: May be obtained from the contact 

person listed above. 

Purpose of Meeting: To provide advice, 

recommendations, and oversight concerning 

support for environmental research and 

education. 

Agenda: 

October 17 

Introduction of New Members 

Update on recent NSF environmental 

activities 

Joint Session with NSF Advisory 

Committee on Geosciences 

October 18 

Discussion of Future AC/ERE activities 

Meeting with the Director (or 

Representative) 

Establishment of AC/ERE Task Groups 

Dated: August 28, 2007. 

Susanne Bolton, 

Committee Management Officer. 

[FR Doc. E7–17342 Filed 8–30–07; 8:45 am] 

BILLING CODE 7555–01–P 

NATIONAL SCIENCE FOUNDATION 

Advisory Committee for Geosciences; 

Notice of Meeting 

In accordance with the Federal 

Advisory Committee Act (Pub. L. 92–

463, as amended), the National Science 

Foundation announces the following 

meeting: 

Name: Advisory Committee for 

Geosciences (1755). 

Dates: October 17, 9 a.m.–5 p.m. and 

October 18, 2007, 9 a.m.–2:30 p.m. 

Place: Stafford I, Room 375, National 

Science Foundation, 4201 Wilson Blvd., 

Arlington, Virginia 22230. 

Type of Meeting: Open. 

For Further Information Contact: Melissa 

Lane, National Science Foundation, 4201 

Wilson Blvd., Suite 705, Arlington, Virginia 

22230, Phone: 703–292–8500. 

If you are attending the meeting and need 

access to the NSF, please contact the 

individual listed above so your name may be 

added to the building access list. 

Minutes: May be obtained from the contact 

person listed above. 


sroberts on PROD1PC70 with NOTICES