Visual observations recorded during two blue whale voyages in the Bonney Upwelling, south east Australia in 2012
공공데이터포털
An outline of the blue whale voyages of 2012 can be found here: http://www.marinemammals.gov.au/sorp/antarctic-blue-whale-project/bonney-upwelling-acoustic-testing-expeditions with further information here: http://www.marinemammals.gov.au/__data/assets/pdf_file/0005/135617/SC-64-SH11.pdf The 'Logger' data entry system was developed by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and is a flexible system to record information during a voyage. This system was the primary data entry system for the voyage and all events were recorded in Logger’s database. Blue whale voyage 1 datasets: 12 - 25 January 2012 Sightings from the first blue whale voyage are recorded across three access databases: 20120117LoggerFinalPart1Updated.mdb 20120121LoggerFinalPart2Updated.mdb 20120125LoggerFinalPart3Updated.mdb These databases contain tables describing: Comments: details additional to sightings entered or data entry omissions, time stamped (UTC) Observer effort - codes found in lookup table, date/time in UTC GPS data (time stamped, UTC) and heading Lookup - contains all topic codes to apply to all other tables Resights: resighting details for sightings already recorded, time/date in UTC, initial sighting number, blow count and notes Cetacean sightings - date/time in UTC, sighting number, observer name, vessel, estimate of distance, bearing, heading, species code, sighting cue code, estimate of number of individuals (low, best and high), group behaviour, pod compaction, surface synchronicity and comments Weather: Date/time in UTC, sightability, glare, sea state, wind strength, swell, weather, cloud cover, cloud height, notes Blue whale voyage 2 datasets: 13 - 30 March 2012 GPS data is stored in the file called 'gps_meld_data_exp.csv'. This is an amalgam dataset of two GPS data streams, that has been checked and corrected (see 'Quality' for further details. Date time is stored in two formats. The first is %Y-%m-%d %H-%M-%S format, as in "2012-03-16 17:54:32". The second format is a concatenated, orderable numeric string, as in 20120316175432. The small file 'trip_db.csv' contains a quick reference as to when the four trips of blue whale voyage 2 started, to the minute. These times have been corrected for the minor (i.e, 2 mins 15 second) error (see 'Quality' below). Effort database is contained in the file 'VWhale2_database_effort_corrected.csv'. A fair amount of 'correction' has gone on with this data as there were great variations in the way different people were adding new information into Logger. Furthermore, there were 'innovations' made to the Logger system, particularly after the first couple of trips. In particular, the effort was added to Logger in the first trip was exactly as it was in the first voyage (the VL was too seasick to make any amendments). So, according to the older effort classification, effort for the first trip started and ended, but there were no observer rotations or notes taken as to what platform the observers were perched on. Given there was quite a bit of seasickness that first day, the only observers likely to be working would have been PE, PO and DD. These observers favoured the Fly Bridge so all sighting effort for the first trip has been allocated to these observers on the Fly Bridge. The subsequent innovations were: observers were not told how far away a potential calling whale was. If, however, the acousticians thought that we were almost upon the animal(s), they will indicate this to the observing team. Acoustic.search == 1 indicates when the acousticians have notified observers that there was a group of blue whales in the area. Local.Search == 1 indicates that after an initial sighting was made, sighting effort and boat movement converted into a search to get closer to the animal(s) in order to confirm their species (not usually such a huge issue with blue whales, admittedly), group size and to get photo-ID. FD == 1 when effort on the foredeck either started or continued. FB == 1 when effort on the fly
Sonobuoy data for the 2012 Blue Whale Voyages
공공데이터포털
This dataset contains acoustic recordings from Directional Frequency Analysis and Recording (DIFAR) sonobuoys that were deployed throughout the 2012 Blue Whale Voyages conducted off Portland, Victoria, Australia from January – March (in the Bonney Upwelling). During the 20 days at sea 131 AN/SSQ-53D sonobuoys were deployed yielding more than 500 hours of acoustic recordings. In January a total team of three dedicated acousticians monitored round-the-clock for blue whales and in all weather conditions. In March the team size was increased so that five acousticians monitored and tracked blue whales round-the-clock. The recording chain for all sonobuoy deployments through 25 March 2012 included a 3-dB communications antenna with a central frequency at 161 MHz and masthead amplifier connected to a passive four way splitter. The highest point of the antenna was approximately 14 m above sea level. The antenna, amplifier, and splitter were connected with low loss cable, and each output of the four way splitter connected to the DIFAR input of a WiNRaDiO 2902i sonobuoy VHF receiver. On 25 March the masthead amplifier failed and was removed from the recording chain. This failure prompted the use of recently acquired WiNRaDiO G39WSBe sonobuoy receivers. The A/D converter used throughout both voyages was a RME Fireface UFX. The voltage outputs of all of the sonobuoy receivers were calibrated as a function of modulation frequency before the voyage, and DIFAR outputs from each of the 2902i and G39WSBe were connected to an instrument input of the UFX. The instrument inputs of the UFX (analog inputs 9-12) have a peak-peak voltage range of 80 V with digitally controlled gain that can be set between 10-65 dB, and this setting was noted in the Sonobuoy Deployment Log (see below) in order to measure received sound-pressure levels accurately. The digitised signals from the UFX were saved as 16-bit WAV files with 48 kHz sample rate using passive acoustic monitoring software Pamguard. 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. 15-30 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/µPa 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 and 2902i both had a measured voltage response of approximately 1 V-peak–peak (approximately -3 dB) at 25 kHz frequency deviation (Miller et al. 2014), and this can be subtracted from the hydrophone sensitivity to yield an total combined factor of 125 dB re 1 V/µPa. 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 (Sonobuoy deployment log) This spreadsheet contains metadata on the deployment of sonobuoys deployed during the 2013 Antarctic Blue Whale Voyage. The first row contains column headers, while each subsequent row contains deployment information for a single sonobuoy. Information contained in each column are: buoyID: Buoy ID number is the sequential number
Visual observations recorded during the Antarctic blue whale voyage to the Southern Ocean 2013
공공데이터포털
The ‘Logger’ data entry system was developed by the International Fund for Animal Welfare (IFAW) and is a flexible system to record information during a voyage. This system was the primary data entry system for the voyage and all events were recorded in Logger’s database. The logger access database contains all data collected throughout the Antarctic blue whale voyage related to: Observer effort (effort status, event, number of observers and locations, ship guide and data logger) Cetacean sightings and resightings (time, sighting number, sighting platform, estimate distance, binocular reticles, angle, species, sighting cue, heading, estimate of number of individuals, observer of sighting, behaviour, pod compaction, comments) Sonobuoy deployments (time, sonobuoy number, notes) Environmental observations (sightability, sea state, swell, weather, cloud cover, visibility, intensity, glare, ice, sea surface temperature) GPS data (time indexed NMEA feed) CTD deployments (time, notes) Biopsy events (time, success, sample number, reaction, attempts, dart recovery, notes)
Photogrammetric video tracks of Antarctic blue whale movements recorded during the 2013 Antarctic Blue Whale Voyage
공공데이터포털
During the 2013 Antarctic Blue Whale Voyage of the Southern Ocean Research Partnership a photogrammetric video tracking system was used to collect precise surfacing locations during encounters with some Antarctic blue whales. The photogrammetric video tracking system is described by Leaper and Gordon 2001, and enables determination of the range and bearing to tracked objects relative to the ship. During the voyage, 32 tracking sessions yielded 553 precise photogrammetric locations comprising a total of 27 tracks of blue whales. Leaper, R. and Gordon, J. 2001. Application of photogrammetric methods for locating and tracking cetacean movements at sea. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, 3: 131-141.
2021 Aerial survey data of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) off southern Australia (NESP MaC 1.26)
공공데이터포털
Aerial surveys of southern right whales (Eubalaena australis) were undertaken off the southern Australian coast to monitor the recovery of this endangered species following extreme 19th and 20th Century commercial whaling. The aerial survey was undertaken in the coastal waters from Perth (Western Australia) to Ceduna (South Australia) between the 12th and 17th August 2021, to maintain the annual series of surveys and inform the long-term population trend. The maximum whale counts for each leg of the survey flights between Cape Leeuwin and Ceduna, and consisted of a total 643 southern right whales sighted across the survey area (270 cow-calf pairs and 103 unaccompanied whales). The subsequent population estimate for the Australian ‘south-western’ population is 2,549 whales, which represents the majority of the Australian population given the very low numbers in the ‘south-eastern’ subpopulation. The population long-term trend data is indicating recent years (from 2007) are showing greater inter-annual variation in whale counts. To evaluate the recovery of the southern right whale population, it will be critical to collect long-term data on the annual variability in whale numbers related to the non-annual female breeding cycle and identify possible impacts on this by short-term climate dynamics, longer-term climate change and/or anthropogenic threats.
Sonobuoy deployment log of the 2013 Antarctic Blue Whale Voyage to the Southern Ocean
공공데이터포털
The sonobuoy deployment log is a csv file that contains metadata on the deployment of sonobuoys deployed during the 2013 Antarctic Blue Whale Voyage. The first row contains column headers, while each subsequent row contains deployment information for a single sonobuoy. Data that were recorded during each sonobuoy deployment are: buoyID: Buoy ID number is the sequential number of the buoy starting at 1 for the first buoy of the trip. startDate: Date (UTC) at the start of the sonobuoy deployment (YYYY-MM-DD) startTime: Time (UTC) at the start of the sonobuoy deployment (HH:MM:SS) 2 digit hour with 24 hour clock and leading zero. stopDate: Date (UTC) at the end of the sonobuoy deployment (YYYY-MM-DD). While the recording is in progress this should be 1,2 4 or 8 hours after the startTime based on sonobuoy setting. stopTime: Time (UTC) at the end of the sonobuoy deployment (HH:MM:SS). While the recording is in progress this should be 1,2 4 or 8 hours after the startTime based on the sonobuoy setting. lat: Latitude of deployment in decimal degrees. Southern hemisphere latitudes should be negative. long: Longitude of deployment in decimal degrees. Western hemisphere longitudes should be negative. alt: Depth of the sonobuoy deployment in metres. For DIFAR sonobuoys either 30, 120 or 300. recordingChannel: This is the channel number within the recorded wav-file that contains audio from this buoy as would be reported by Matlab. Channel numbers start at 1 (1-indexed) so usually this will be 1, 2 or 3. magVariation: The magnetic variation in degrees. Positive declination is East, negative is West. At the start of a recording this will be entered from a chart. As the recording progresses, this should be updated by measuring the bearing to the vessel. sonobuoyType: The an/ssq designation for the sonobuoy. Usually 53B, 53D, 53F, HIDAR, 57A/B, or 36Q. receiver: The type and serial number of the calibrated radio receiver (WinRadio) used to receive the VHF signal. (wr15725, wr17274, wr15274, or wr15273) preamp: The (unitless) gain in dB of any preamplifier (including the instrument preamp from the Fireface UFX). Usually 10 or 20 dB. adc: The analog-to-digital converter (adc) used to digitize the audio. This is the sound card name and gain. All data were recorded on an RME Fireface UFX, so Ufx10 would be the RME Fireface UFX with a gain of 10 dB. vhfFreq: The VHF channel number used to receive the sonobuoys. Sonobuoys have 99 pre-set VHF channels between