This dataset contains acoustic recordings from Directional Frequency Analysis and Recording (DIFAR) sonobuoys that were deployed during the 2013 Antarctic blue whale voyage. During the 47 day voyage 360 sonobuoys were deployed yielding 733 hours of acoustic recordings. On average, slightly more than eight sonobuoys were used per survey day. Ninety three sonobuoys were deployed in transit to or from the edge of the sea-ice while the remainder were deployed to monitor and target Antarctic blue whales. The telemetered audio from sonobuoys was monitored aurally and visually (via spectrogram) in real-time by one or more on-duty acousticians. A total team of five dedicated acousticians monitored round-the-clock for blue whales and in all weather conditions. Upon detection of blue whale vocalisations the vessel was directed towards the locations of these sounds. After deployment, sonobuoys sent acoustic and directional data to the ship via a VHF radio transmitter. Radio signals from the sonobuoy were received using an omnidirectional VHF antenna (PCTel Inc. MFB1443; 3 dB gain tuned to 144 MHz centre frequency) and pre-amplifier (Minicircuits Inc. ZX60-33LN-S+) mounted on the mast of the ship at a height of 21 m. The preamplifier was connected to a power splitter via LMR400 cable and signals were received with two WiNRaDiO G39WSBe sonobuoy receivers. The radio signal from sonobuoys was adequate for monitoring and localization out to a typical range of 12-15 nmi. Received signals were digitised via a sound board (RME Fireface; RME Inc.), and signals were recorded on a personal computer using the software program PAMGuard (Gillespie et al. 2008). Three models of sonobuoys were used during the voyage: 79 were AN/SSQ-53D (Ultra Electronics, Canada), 81 were AN/SSQ-53F (Ultra Electronics: SonobuoyTechSystems, USA) and 200 were AN/SSQ-955-HIDAR (deployed in DIFAR compatibility mode; Ultra Electronics Sonar Systems, UK). In addition to recording of Antarctic blue whale song, New Zealand type blue whale song, and blue whale "D-call" vocalisations, these recordings also contain vocalisations from fin whales, humpback whales, sei whales, killer whales, sperm whales, as well as low frequency sounds from Antarctic sea ice.

This dataset contains digitized passive acoustic recordings from a hydrophone connected to an autonomous recording device both moored near the sea-floor in the Southern Ocean. Recordings were digitised at a sample rate of 500 Hz and were continuous over the period of operation. The intended purpose of these recordings was to collect baseline data on the acoustic environment (i.e. underwater sound fields). Underwater sounds that were recorded include sounds generated by Antarctic sea ice, marine mammals, and man-made sounds from ships and geo-acoustic surveys. Marine mammal sounds include calls from blue, fin, humpback, and minke whales.

This dataset contains digitized passive acoustic recordings from a hydrophone connected to an autonomous recording device both moored near the sea-floor in the Southern Ocean. Recordings were digitised at a sample rate of 500 Hz and were continuous over the period of operation. The intended purpose of these recordings was to collect baseline data on the acoustic environment (i.e. underwater sound fields). Underwater sounds that were recorded include sounds generated by Antarctic sea ice, marine mammals, and man-made sounds from ships and geo-acoustic surveys. Marine mammal sounds include calls from blue, fin, humpback, and minke whales. The data were collected in 2005 from a hydrophone deployed on a mooring in the Prydz Bay area.

This dataset contains digitized passive acoustic recordings from a hydrophone connected to an autonomous recording device both moored near the sea-floor in the Southern Ocean. Recordings were digitised at a sample rate of 500 Hz and were continuous over the period of operation. The intended purpose of these recordings was to collect baseline data on the acoustic environment (i.e. underwater sound fields). Underwater sounds that were recorded include sounds generated by Antarctic sea ice, marine mammals, and man-made sounds from ships and geo-acoustic surveys. Marine mammal sounds include calls from blue, fin, humpback, and minke whales. The data were collected in 2006 from a hydrophone deployed on a mooring in the Prydz Bay area.

This dataset contains acoustic recordings from Directional Frequency Analysis and Recording (DIFAR) sonobuoys that were deployed from 22 January – 18 March 2017 during the Antarctic Circumnavigation Expedition. During the 52 days at sea 301 sonobuoys were deployed yielding 492 hours of acoustic recordings. Two models of sonobuoys were used during the voyage: 1 was a bespoke reusable DIFAR buoy based on a sensor and radio from an AN/SSQ-53F sonobuoy (Ultra Electronics: SonobuoyTechSystems, USA) and 300 were re-lifed AN/SSQ-955-HIDAR (deployed in DIFAR compatibility mode; Ultra Electronics Sonar Systems, UK). Two dedicated acousticians monitored round-the-clock for blue, fin, sperm, humpback, minke, killer, and sei whales, and crabeater, leopard, Ross, and weddell seals and in all weather conditions. During ACE, we conducted a broad-scale, passing-mode passive acoustic survey for marine mammals in the Southern Ocean. Listening stations were conducted by deploying SSQ955 HIDAR sonobuoys in DIFAR (standard) mode to monitor for and measure bearings to vocalising whales while the ship was underway (Gedamke and Robinson 2010, Miller et al. 2015). During transit, listening stations were conducted every 30-60 nmi in water depths greater than 200 m. Sonobuoys were occasionally deployed with spacing less than 30 nmi in an attempt to more precisely determine spatial extent and vocal characteristics of calls that were believed to be coming from animals relatively close to the ship’s track. During terrestrial stopovers and marine science stations, sonobuoys were deployed approximately 2-4 nmi prior to stopping in order to attempt to monitor them for the full six-hour duration of their operational life. This distance ensured good radio signal while minimising acoustic interference from the vessel. The sampling regime was chosen to balance spatial resolution with the finite number of sonobuoys available for this study. Instrumentation, software, and data collection At each listening station, a HIDAR sonobuoy was deployed with the hydrophone set to a depth of 140 m. Sonobuoys transmitted underwater acoustic signals from the hydrophone and directional sensors back to the ship via a VHF radio transmitter. Radio signals from the sonobuoy were received using an omnidirectional VHF antenna (PCTel Inc. MFB1443; 3 dB gain tuned to 144 MHz centre frequency) and a Yagi antenna (Broadband Propagation Pty Ltd, Sydney Australia) mounted on the top of the helicopter control room at a height of 23.0 m. The antennas were each directly connected to a WiNRADiO G39WSBe sonobuoy receiver via low-loss LMR400 coaxial cable. The radio reception range on the Yagi antenna was similar to previous Antarctic voyages, and was adequate for monitoring and localisation typically out to a range of 12-14 nmi, provided that the direction to the sonobuoy was close (i.e. within around 30o) to the main axis of the antenna. The radio reception on the omnidirectional antenna typically provided 5-8 nmi of omnidirectional reception from sonobuoys. At transit speed (14-15 knots), the Yagi antenna provided about 55 minutes of acoustic recording time per sonobuoy Using both antennas together were able obtain radio reception for up to six hours (i.e. the maximum life of a 955 sonobuoy) when sonobuoys were deployed within 5 nmi of a marine science station. Received signals were digitised via the instrument inputs of a Fireface UFX sound board (RME Fireface; RME Inc.). Digitised signals were recorded on a personal computer as 48 kHz 24-bit WAV audio files using the software program PAMGuard (Gillespie et al. 2008). Data from both the Yagi and Omnidirectional antenna were recorded simultaneously as WAV audio channels 0 (left) and 1 (right). Each recorded WAV file therefore contains a substantial amount of duplication since both antennas and receivers were usually receiving the same signals from the same sonobuoy. Directional calibration The magnetic compass in each sonobuoy was

This dataset contains digitized passive acoustic recordings from a hydrophone connected to an autonomous recording device both moored near the sea-floor in the Southern Ocean. Recordings were digitised at a sample rate of 500 Hz and were continuous over the period of operation. The intended purpose of these recordings was to collect baseline data on the acoustic environment (i.e. underwater sound fields). Underwater sounds that were recorded include sounds generated by Antarctic sea ice, marine mammals, and man-made sounds from ships and geo-acoustic surveys. Marine mammal sounds include calls from blue, fin, humpback, and minke whales. The hydrophone was deployed on a mooring on the Kerguelen Plateau.

This dataset contains digitized passive acoustic recordings from a hydrophone connected to an autonomous recording device both moored near the sea-floor in the Southern Ocean. Recordings were digitised at a sample rate of 500 Hz and were continuous over the period of operation. The intended purpose of these recordings was to collect baseline data on the acoustic environment (i.e. underwater sound fields). Underwater sounds that were recorded include sounds generated by Antarctic sea ice, marine mammals, and man-made sounds from ships and geo-acoustic surveys. Marine mammal sounds include calls from blue, fin, humpback, and minke whales. The hydrophone was deployed on a mooring on the Kerguelen Plateau in 2006.

This annotated library contains both a data set and a data product. The data set contains a sub-sample of underwater recordings made around Antarctica from 2005-2017. These recordings were curated and sub-sampled from a variety of national and academic recording campaigns. Recordings were made using a variety of different instruments, and sub-samples span 11 different combinations of site and year. Spatial coverage of the recordings includes sites in the Western Antarctic Peninsula, Atlantic, Indian, and Pacific sectors. Temporal coverage of recordings covers a representative sample throughout each recording year for the years of 2005, 2013, 2014, 2015, and 2017. The focus is on low-frequency sounds of blue and fin whales, so curated recordings have been downsampled to sample rates of either 250, 500, 1000 or 2000 Hz. Recordings are all in 16-bit wav format. The file name of each wav file contains a timestamp with the date and time of the start of that file. Recordings are contained in the /wav/ subfolder for each site-year (e.g. Casey2014/wav). The data product is in the form of annotations that describe the times within each WAV file that contain detections of blue and fin whale sounds. Each annotations are stored as a row in a tab-separated text file (with descriptive column headers), and each text file describes a particular type of sound. These annotation text files are formatted as Selection Tables that can be directly imported into the software program Raven Pro 1.5 (Cornell Bioacoustics Laboratory). Full description of the details of the creation and use of this dataset are described in the draft manuscript contained in the documentation folder.

Passive acoustic monitoring of Gulf of Maine waters is a critical aspect of understanding long term changes in North Atlantic right whale (NARW) presence and distribution within this region. An improved understanding of the presence of this species is needed in order to better monitor changes in distribution patterns and occurrence of this endangered species as well as to help understand where the risk of entanglement in fishing gear and ship strike may occur. These raw passive acoustic data will help develop mitigation strategies required by the U.S. by the Marine Mammal Protection Act and the Endangered Species Act. The objective of this project is to maintain a passive acoustic monitoring network in inshore Gulf of Maine waters for at least 5 years.

This dataset contains acoustic recordings from Directional Frequency Analysis and Recording (DIFAR) sonobuoys that were deployed throughout the 2015 NZ-Aus Antarctic Ecosystems Voyage. During the 42 day voyage 310 sonobuoys were deployed yielding 520 hours of acoustic recordings. Two models of sonobuoys were used during the voyage: 2 were AN/SSQ-53F (Ultra Electronics: SonobuoyTechSystems, USA) and 308 were re-lifed AN/SSQ-955-HIDAR (deployed in DIFAR compatibility mode; Ultra Electronics Sonar Systems, UK). A total team of four dedicated acousticians monitored round-the-clock for blue whales and in all weather conditions. After deployment, sonobuoys sent acoustic and directional data to the ship via a VHF radio transmitter. Radio signals from the sonobuoy were received using an omnidirectional VHF antenna (PCTel Inc. MFB1443; 3 dB gain tuned to 144 MHz centre frequency) and pre-amplifier (Minicircuits Inc. ZX60-33LN-S+) mounted on the mast of the ship at a height of 21 m. The preamplifier was connected to a power splitter via LMR400 cable and signals were received with two WiNRaDiO G39WSBe sonobuoy receivers. The radio signal from sonobuoys was adequate for monitoring and localization out to a typical range of 12-15 nmi. Received signals were digitised via the instrument inputs of a Fireface UFX sound board (RME Fireface; RME Inc.) with a gain set to 20 dB (8.396 V peak-peak voltage limits). Digitised signals were recorded on a personal computer as two-channel 48 kHz 24-bit WAV audio files using the software program PAMGuard (Gillespie et al. 2008). Directional calibration The magnetic compass in each sonobuoy was calibrated/validated upon deployment as described by Miller et al. (2015, 2016). Calibration procedure involved measuring the mean bearing error and standard deviation of errors between the GPS-derived bearing from the sonobuoy to the ship and the magnetic bearing to the ship noise detected by the sonobuoy. 15-20 bearings were used for each calibration as the ship steamed directly away from the deployment location. Intensity calibration Obtaining calibrated intensity measurements from sonobuoys not only requires knowledge of the sensitivity of the hydrophone, but also the calibration parameters of the radio transmitter and radio receiver. Throughout the voyage, a hydrophone sensitivity of -122 dB re 1 V/micro Pa was applied to recordings via the Hydrophone Array Manager in PAMGuard. This value is defined in the DIFAR specification as the reference intensity at 100 Hz that will generate a frequency deviation of 25 kHz (Maranda 2001), thus the specification combines the hydrophone sensitivity and transmitter calibration. In line with manufacturers specifications, the WiNRADiO G39 WSB had a measured voltage response of 1 V-peak–peak (approximately -3 dB) at 25 kHz frequency deviation (Miller et al. 2014), and this was subtracted from the hydrophone sensitivity to yield an total combined factor of 125 dB re 1 V/µPa. The gain of the instrument input on the Fireface UFX was set to 20 dB, yielding a maximum voltage input voltage range of 8.36 V peak–peak. These calibration settings, along with the shaped filter response provided by Greene et al. (2004) make it possible to obtain calibrated pressure amplitude from the recorded WAV audio files. Sonobuoy deployment metadata The PAMGuard DIFAR Module (Miller et al. 2016) was used to record the sonobuoy deployment metadata such as location, sonobuoy deployment number, and audio channel in the HydrophoneStreamers table of the PAMGuard database (PamguardBlueWhale-2015-02-03.mdb). A written sonobuoy deployment log (Sonobuoy deployment logbook - 2015 Tangaroa.pdf) was also kept during the voyage, and this includes additional notes and additional information not included in the PAMGuard Database such as sonobuoy type, and sonobuoy end-time. Real-time monitoring and analysis (Acoustic event log) Aural and visual monitoring of audio and spectrograms from each sonobuoy was conducted