The National Marine Mammal Laboratory (NMML) has conducted passive acoustic monitoring in the Bering, Chukchi, and Western Beaufort Seas to determine spatio-temporal distribution of marine mammals as well as environmental and anthropogenic noise. Species and sounds detected on sonobuoys include fin, blue, bowhead, humpback, killer, gray, minke, sperm, beluga, sei, and North Pacific right whales, walrus, ribbon and bearded seals, and seismic airguns. This short-term passive acoustic monitoring was also used to locate vocalizing species of interest for photo-identification, tagging, and behavioral studies. Recordings are available since 2007 in the Bering Sea, since 2010 in the Chukchi and Beaufort Seas, and in 2013 in the Gulf of Alaska. Both omnidirectional and DiFAR sonobuoys have been used. The vast majority of the sonobuoys were deployed opportunistically along the tracks of research cruises funded by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM). In one year (2009), sonobuoys were deployed opportunistically from an aerial survey plane. All sonobuoys were provided by the United States Navy (Naval Operational Logistics Support Center, Naval Surface Warfare Center, Crance Division, and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of the Navy).

The Marine Mammal Laboratory (MML) has deployed long-term passive acoustic recorders in various locations in Alaskan waters and in the High Arctic to determine spatio-temporal distribution of marine mammals as well as environmental and anthropogenic noise. Following the timing of peak calling among the various long-term recorders may provide some insight into finer-scale movements of cetaceans throughout the Bering, Chukchi, and Beaufort Seas as well as in the Gulf of Alaska. Changes in ambient noise levels can also be tracked. Recordings are available since 2007 in the Bering and Beaufort Seas, since 2010 in the Chukchi, since 2019 in the Gulf of Alaska, and from 2008-2012 in Fram Strait. The majority of these recorders were deployed on MML subsurface moorings, although several have been deployed on the oceanographic moorings of other researchers. Several different types of autonomous passive acoustic recorders have been deployed, most for one year. Recording parameters varied among instrument types and have evolved among projects. The majority of these recorders and deployments were funded by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM); however, funding in recent years has come from the Office of Naval Research (Marine Mammals and Biology Program), NMFS Office of Protected Resources, and the NMFS Office of Science and Technology (including the Ocean Acoustic Program).

Metadata record for data from ASAC Project 2683. This project was followed by AAS project 4102, "Population abundance, trend, structure and distribution of the endangered Antarctic blue whale". The metadata record for project 4102 (and its child records) is available at the provided URL. This metadata record is in the process of being gradually modified (2014-08-08) to be set up as a parent record for the data from the above listed projects. Data from these projects will gradually become available via child records, rather than this record. Public Summary - 2683 This project will initiate focused acoustic research into the biology of Southern Ocean cetaceans. Deployment of sonobuoys along vessel transects will be used to survey large geographic regions for the presence and relative abundance of cetaceans. In addition, bottom mounted acoustic recording devices will permit continuous acoustic monitoring of targeted locations over long time frames. These techniques will help answer important questions regarding the presence, relative abundance, seasonality, movements, and distribution of Southern Ocean marine mammals that are necessary for effective management. Public Summary - 4102 Half a century ago the Antarctic blue whale was perilously close to extinction. Over 350,000 were killed before the remaining few were fully protected. A decade ago this elusive and poorly understood species was estimated to be less than 5% of its pre-whaling abundance. This multi-national, circumpolar project will develop and apply powerful new techniques to survey these rare whales and gain an insight into their recovery and ecology. The project is the flagship of the Southern Ocean Research Partnership - an International Whaling Commission endorsed collaborative program. Project objectives: This multi-year initiative within the AMLR program aims to implement a focused acoustic research program that will examine Southern Ocean marine mammal population dynamics through the use of technologically advanced acoustic monitoring techniques. In order to achieve the aims of this study an international collaboration has been developed leading to a multi-faceted research program. Long-term autonomous sea-floor recording devices will be utilised to conduct year-round acoustic surveys in targeted locations. Sonobuoys will additionally be used over shorter time frames to conduct strategic vessel-based acoustic surveys over large geographic ranges. These data will be used to assess distribution, movement, relative abundance, seasonality, and behaviour of cetaceans in Southern Ocean waters. These results can then be integrated with concurrently collected data on oceanographic and biological variables from vessel based surveys and remote satellite sensing leading to a larger understanding of the role of marine mammals in the Southern Ocean ecosystem. These objectives and early research design of this project are largely responsive to needs determined by the Australian Antarctic Division's recently inherited responsibilities to the International Whaling Commission. The prevailing motivation behind this project is to help develop a significant acoustic research capability in cetacean biology in order to provide sound scientific data that will assist in Australia's participation in the International Whaling Commission. Data from this project are stored offline on servers held at the Australian Antarctic Data Centre. Taken from the 2008-2009 Progress Report: Progress against objectives: Analysis of the Brokewest sonobuoy survey is complete and the manuscript has been accepted for publication in Deep Sea Research. This manuscript details the distribution of whales and seals in eastern Antarctic waters based on an acoustic sonobuoy survey. Data analysis is continuing of the recovered acoustic logger data. In addition, 1 acoustic logger was recovered during the 2008/9 season that will provide 2 years of acoustic recordings from the waters between Tasmania and the

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 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 hydrophone was deployed on a mooring on the Kerguelen Plateau.

Bryde’s whales, Balaenoptera edeni, are the only year-round resident baleen whale in the Gulf of Mexico, have an estimated abundance of 33 individuals (CV 1.07) in the Gulf of Mexico population, and are found within a restricted range near the De Soto Canyon in the northeastern Gulf. Based on their localized distribution, low abundance, and recent evidence that this population represents a unique evolutionary lineage and exhibits very low levels of genetic diversity, the Natural Resources Defense Council (NRDC) has petitioned NMFS to list the Gulf of Mexico Bryde’s whale as an endangered species and define critical habitat to enhance their protection. The NRDC highlights the high levels of anthropogenic noise from shipping and seismic surveys in the Gulf of Mexico as a major stressor. Historical whaling records found balaenopterids, most likely Bryde’s whales, throughout a broader area than their currently known range, including the western and central portions of the northern Gulf of Mexico, though sightings are now rare in this region, despite substantial effort. Autonomous passive acoustic methods are the most successful tool for finding rare whale species in areas where they occur infrequently and areas where they were historically sighted by whalers. The objectives of this study are to collect passive acoustic data for use in investigations of 1) Bryde’s whale occurrence and distribution, and 2) ambient noise conditions in the western Gulf of Mexico. We deployed 5 calibrated autonomous acoustic instruments over a one year period from June 2016 – June 2017 along the 200 m isobaths throughout the western Gulf of Mexico predicted Bryde’s whale habitat. This will provide data to investigate whether, where, and when Bryde’s whales occupy this habitat and will be useful in designating critical habitat if this species is listed under the ESA. By using calibrated instruments, an additional goal will be to obtain data to characterize the ambient sound environment at these sites to determine whether acute or chronic anthropogenic noise sources pose a risk to this species.

These data comprise of hydroacoustic backscatter data along transects in the North Pacific and Bering Sea conducted in August 2012 and 2014. We echointegrated hydroactoustic backscatter and used that as a proxy for forage fish biomass. The dataset consists of comma delimited files for 120Hz frequency. Each file contains analysis exports from EchoView Software Pty Ltd. ver. 5.4.

These data comprise of hydroacoustic backscatter data along transects in the North Pacific and Bering Sea conducted in August 2012 and 2014. We echointegrated hydroactoustic backscatter and used that as a proxy for forage fish biomass. The dataset consists of comma delimited files for 120Hz frequency. Each file contains analysis exports from EchoView Software Pty Ltd. ver. 5.4.

This record represents raw passive acoustic data collected from the Gerry E. Studds Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary (SBNMS). From 2006 to 2011, researchers deployed arrays of bottom-mounted Marine Autonomous Recording Units (MARUs). These units continuously recorded low-frequency sound in the Stellwagen Bank National Marine Sanctuary. We analyzed recordings from these units for the presence of vocally-active baleen whales and fish species. We also combined MARU data with data from the U.S. Coast Guard's Automatic Identification System to calculate noise budget contributions from tracked vessels in the area. To investigate the potential effects of vessel noise on the acoustic communication of marine mammals, we integrated ship and whale data. Together with the National Park Service we use these data to develop tools for understanding long-term changes in the sanctuary's 'soundscape.'