Australian scientists have found that seismic surveys from ships are killing off marine life.

A study published in Nature revealed evidence that data acquisition causes "significant mortality to zooplankton populations".

Surveys use intense, low-frequency, acoustic impulse signals.

"Experimental air gun signal exposure decreased zooplankton abundance when compared with controls", the study said, causing a "two-to-threefold increase in dead adult and larval zooplankton."