Developing the Next Generation Marine Mammal Information Center for Integrated Ocean Observing: OBIS-SEAMAP 2.0
Lead PI: Dr. Patrick Halpin, Duke University
OBIS-SEAMAP aims to continue its information system services and to expand both the scope and depth of its program to better meet the increasingly complex demands facing the ocean science and management communities. The program plans to focus new efforts on developing a more technically advanced and fully interoperable marine animal information management system within the context of the emerging integrated ocean observing system. The OBIS-SEAMAP system will continue to be a leading prototype for the development of new technologies and data delivery systems for CoML and the International Ocean Observing System (IOOS).
Number of Years: 3
Start Year: 2007
End Year: 2010
Partners:
- Duke University
- Cornell University
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- University of Rhode Island
- University of North Carolina HYCOM Consortium
- Envrionmental Sciences Research Institute (ESRI)
- NOAA – Southeast, Alaska, Northeast, Southwest & Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Centers
FY 2007 PI Report
FY 2008 PI Report
FY 2009 PI Report
FY 2010 PI Report
Mid-Frequency Sonar Interactions with Beaked Whales
Lead PI: Dr. Kenneth G. Foote, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Experiments are being conducted in the laboratory on captive marine mammals to assess effects of sound on hearing, and at sea on wild animals to assess behavioral reactions. It is this project’s aim to bridge the gap between such experiments and operational scenarios for risk analysis. This will be accomplished by developing an online modeling system, called the Virtual Beaked Whale, which will predict acoustic fields internal to the animal for sonar signals in the range 1-10 kHz.
Number of Years: 3
Start Year: 2009
End Year: 2010
Partners:
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- Mount Sinai School of Medicine
- Pennsylvania State University
- Naval Survace Warfare Center
FY 2009 PI Report
FY 2010 PI Report
The Influence of Oceanographic and Biological Processes on the Distribution of Cetaceans on the West Florida Shelf: A Synoptic Study Based on Underwater and Space-Based Remote Sensing
Lead PI: Dr. David Mann, University of South Florida
This team will take advantage of the West Florida Shelf (WFS) as a test-bed for determining the effects of physical and biological oceanographic events and noise on cetacean distributions. The team proposes to use autonomous acoustic data recorders to monitor cetaceans over a large spatial and temporal scale, overcoming some of the limitations of studies based on visual surveys alone. These data will be complemented by visual survey data within the acoustic survey area during recorder deployment and retrieval. With in-situ and satellite remote sensing oceanographic data, relationships between the distribution of cetaceans and such factors as sea surface temperature, chlorophyll levels and background noise levels will be investigated on appropriate temporal and spatial scales. Results from existing numerical circulation models of the Gulf of Mexico will help understand underlying oceanographic processes. This proposal brings together experts in physical oceanography, satellite oceanography, cetacean ecology, cetacean acoustics, and physical acoustics to address multiple objectives.
Number of Years: 3
Start Year: 2007
End Year: 2010
Partners:
- University of South Florida
- Texas A&M
- Marine Acoustics, Inc.
- Eckerd College
FY 2007 PI Report
FY 2008 PI Report
An Ocean Observing System for Large-Scale Monitoring and Mapping of Noise Throughout the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary
Lead PI: Dr. Christopher Clark, University of South Florida
This study will take place within the Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS or Sanctuary). The Sanctuary is an “urban” marine sanctuary located to the east of Boston, MA in close proximity to a densely populated coastal zone and is home to some of the oldest and highest capacity commercial fisheries in the world. It is an important feeding ground for endangered marine mammals such as the North Atlantic right whale (Eubalaena glacialis), humpback whale (Megaptera novaeangliae) and fin whale (Balaenoptera physalus). Our primary objective is to build a case study that can provide a national and international benchmark for scientifically evaluating the impacts of and interactions between various anthropogenic sound producers and acoustically sensitive marine animals in a complex acoustic environment. Uniquely, this study will integrate multiple sources of empirical data collected over an ecologically relevant spatial scale and a relatively long time scale.
Number of Years: 3
Start Year: 2008
End Year: 2012
Partners:
- Cornell University
- Marine Acoustics, Inc.
- NOAA Fisheries
- NOAA Sanctuaries
- National Fish and Wildlife Federation
FY 2008 PI Report
FY 2009 PI Report
FY 2010 PI Report
FY 2011 PI Report
FY 2012 PI Report
DECAF – Density Estimation for Cetaceans from passive Acoustic Fixed sensors
Lead PI: Dr. Len Thomas, University of St. Andrews, Scotland
The aim of this project is to develop and implement methods for estimating cetacean density from fixed passive acoustic sensors. Obtaining spatially and temporally referenced estimates of absolute density for cetacean species is fundamental to understanding their basic biology, and also to monitoring and mitigating the effect of man-made impacts on their populations. Passive acoustics is increasingly being recognized as a useful and practical modality for gathering information about cetaceans, and there is a growing body of research on the use of towed acoustic arrays to estimate density, either alone or in conjunction with more traditional visual surveys.
Number of Years: 4
Start Year: 2007
End Year: 2010
Partners:
- University of St. Andrews
- Space and Naval Warfare Systems Center
- Oregon State University
- Naval Undersea Warfare Center Division
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- National Fish and Wildlife Federation
FY 2007 PI Report
FY 2008 PI Report
FY 2009 PI Report
FY 2010 PI Report
Acoustic Detection, Behavior, and Habitat Use of Deep-Diving Odontocetes
Lead PI: Dr. Mark Johnson, Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
This project is designed to fill critical data gaps for topic 4B3 “Improved Methods to Survey, Locate and Identify Marine Mammals”, but also adds environmental and behavioral data addressing topic 4B1 “Investigations of marine mammals in their ecosystems”. This study will measure systematically the parameters required to design and evaluate acoustic platforms for presence and density estimation, focusing on three species of deep-diving toothed whales in uniquely efficient field sites.
Number of Years: 3
Start Year: 2007
End Year: 2010
Partners:
- Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
- University of La Laguna
- University of Aarhus
- Northeast Fisheries Science Center
- Consejo Superior de Investigaciones Cientifica
- NATO Undersea Research Center
- Naval Undersea Warfare Center
- Webb Research Corporation
- Duke University
- Oregon State University
- Spanish, Canary Islands and El Hierro Governments
- National Fish and Wildlife Federation
FY 2007 PI Report
FY 2008 PI Report
FY 2009 PI Report
Climate Change and Baleen Whale Trophic Cascades in West Greenland
Lead PI: Dr. Kristin Laidre, University of Washington
This project is a concentrated study on the movements, foraging ecology, and trophic cascades of large baleen whales in the West Greenland ecosystem. The food web in the West Greenland sub-Arctic and Arctic ecoystems is short and offers ample opportunities for understanding cetacean trophic cascades and ocean energy transfer. Novel methods of data collection such as satellite and archival telemetry will be used to quantify cetacean foraging behavior, focal area use, and phenology.
Number of Years: 3
Start Year: 2009
End Year: 2010
Partners:
- University of Washington
- Greenland Institute of Natural Resources
- Danish Environmental Research Institute
FY 2009 PI Report
FY 2010 PI Report