Slocum gliders provide accurate near real-time estimates of baleen whale presence from human-reviewed passive acoustic detection information

© The Author(s), 2020. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Baumgartner, M. F., Bonnell, J., Corkeron, P. J., Van Parijs, S. M., Hotchkin, C., Hodges, B. A., Thornton, J. B., Mensi, B. L., & Bruner, S. M. Slocum gliders provide accurate near real-time estimates of baleen whale presence from human-reviewed passive acoustic detection information. Frontiers in Marine Science, 7, (2020):100, doi:10.3389/fmars.2020.00100.Mitigating the effects of human activities on marine mammals often depends on monitoring animal occurrence over long time scales, large spatial scales, and in real time. Passive acoustics, particularly from autonomous vehicles, is a promising approach to meeting this need. We have previously developed the capability to record, detect, classify, and transmit to shore information about the tonal sounds of baleen whales in near real time from long-endurance ocean gliders. We have recently developed a protocol by which a human analyst reviews this information to determine the presence of marine mammals, and the results of this review are automatically posted to a publicly accessible website, sent directly to interested parties via email or text, and made available to stakeholders via a number of public and private digital applications. We evaluated the performance of this system during two 3.75-month Slocum glider deployments in the southwestern Gulf of Maine during the spring seasons of 2015 and 2016. Near real-time detections of humpback, fin, sei, and North Atlantic right whales were compared to detections of these species from simultaneously recorded audio. Data from another 2016 glider deployment in the same area were also used to compare results between three different analysts to determine repeatability of results both among and within analysts. False detection (occurrence) rates on daily time scales were 0% for all species. Daily missed detection rates ranged from 17 to 24%. Agreement between two trained novice analysts and an experienced analyst was greater than 95% for fin, sei, and right whales, while agreement was 83–89% for humpback whales owing to the more subjective process for detecting this species. Our results indicate that the presence of baleen whales can be accurately determined using information about tonal sounds transmitted in near real-time from Slocum gliders. The system is being used operationally to monitor baleen whales in United States, Canadian, and Chilean waters, and has been particularly useful for monitoring the critically endangered North Atlantic right whale throughout the northwestern Atlantic Ocean.Funding for this project was provided by the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program of the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Navy’s Living Marine Resources Program

Near real-time detection of low-frequency baleen whale calls from an autonomous surface vehicle: implementation, evaluation, and remaining challenges

© The Author(s), 2021. This article is distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License. The definitive version was published in Baumgartner, M. F., Ball, K., Partan, J., Pelletier, L., Bonnell, J., Hotchkin, C., Corkeron, P. J., & Van Parijs, S. M. Near real-time detection of low-frequency baleen whale calls from an autonomous surface vehicle: implementation, evaluation, and remaining challenges. Journal of the Acoustical Society of America, 149(5), (2021): 2950-2962, https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0004817.Mitigation of threats posed to marine mammals by human activities can be greatly improved with a better understanding of animal occurrence in real time. Recent advancements have enabled low-power passive acoustic systems to be integrated into long-endurance autonomous platforms for persistent near real-time monitoring of marine mammals via the sounds they produce. Here, the integration of a passive acoustic instrument capable of real-time detection and classification of low-frequency (LF) tonal sounds with a Liquid Robotics wave glider is reported. The goal of the integration was to enable monitoring of LF calls produced by baleen whales over periods of several months. Mechanical noises produced by the platform were significantly reduced by lubricating moving parts with polytetrafluoroethylene, incorporating rubber and springs to decelerate moving parts and shock mounting hydrophones. Flow noise was reduced with the development of a 21-element hydrophone array. Surface noise produced by breaking waves was not mitigated despite experimentation with baffles. Compared to a well-characterized moored passive acoustic monitoring buoy, the system greatly underestimated the occurrence of sei, fin, and North Atlantic right whales during a 37-d deployment, and therefore is not suitable in its current configuration for use in scientific or management applications for these species at this time.Funding for this project was provided by the Environmental Security Technology Certification Program of the U.S. Department of Defense and the U.S. Navy's Living Marine Resources Program

Real-time In-Situ Passive Acoustic Array Beamforming from the AutoNaut Wave-Propelled Uncrewed Surface Vessel

This article presents the first demonstration of beamforming, detection, and bearing estimation of an underwater acoustic source from an eight-element thin line hydrophone array towed behind the AutoNaut wave-propelled uncrewed surface vessel. This has been achieved in situ and in real time during an experimental sea trial off the coast of Plymouth, U.K. A controlled acoustic source was towed from a support vessel while emitting seven tonals with frequencies between 480&amp;#x2013;1630&amp;#x00A0;Hz and source levels between 93&amp;#x2013;126&amp;#x00A0;dB. This allowed the detection performance of the array to be assessed and demonstrated for an acoustic source with known bearing and range. In postprocessing, the shape of the array was estimated using a cubic spline model, exploiting measurements from pressure and three-axis compass sensors integrated at each end of the array. The beamforming was repeated using the estimated array shape to infer the hydrophone positions, which resulted in a median improvement of 0.38&amp;#x00A0;dB and maximum of 5.8&amp;#x00A0;dB in the MUSIC beamforming output, and a potential reduction in the left/right bearing estimation ambiguities. The outcomes of this work demonstrate that the AutoNaut is an effective platform for towed array passive acoustic monitoring.</p

Multipurpose acoustic networks in the integrated arctic ocean observing system

The dramatic reduction of sea ice in the Arctic Ocean will increase human activities in the coming years. This activity will be driven by increased demand for energy and the marine resources of an Arctic Ocean accessible to ships. Oil and gas exploration, fisheries, mineral extraction, marine transportation, research and development, tourism, and search and rescue will increase the pressure on the vulnerable Arctic environment. Technologies that allow synoptic in situ observations year-round are needed to monitor and forecast changes in the Arctic atmosphere-ice-ocean system at daily, seasonal, annual, and decadal scales. These data can inform and enable both sustainable development and enforcement of international Arctic agreements and treaties, while protecting this critical environment. In this paper, we discuss multipurpose acoustic networks, including subsea cable components, in the Arctic. These networks provide communication, power, underwater and under-ice navigation, passive monitoring of ambient sound (ice, seismic, biologic, and anthropogenic), and acoustic remote sensing (tomography and thermometry), supporting and complementing data collection from platforms, moorings, and vehicles. We support the development and implementation of regional to basin-wide acoustic networks as an integral component of a multidisciplinary in situ Arctic Ocean observatory

Real-time reporting of baleen whale passive acoustic detections from ocean gliders

Author Posting. © Acoustical Society of America, 2013. This article is posted here by permission of Acoustical Society of America for personal use, not for redistribution. The definitive version was published in Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 134 (2013): 1814-1823, doi:10.1121/1.4816406.In the past decade, much progress has been made in real-time passive acoustic monitoring of marine mammal occurrence and distribution from autonomous platforms (e.g., gliders, floats, buoys), but current systems focus primarily on a single call type produced by a single species, often from a single location. A hardware and software system was developed to detect, classify, and report 14 call types produced by 4 species of baleen whales in real time from ocean gliders. During a 3-week deployment in the central Gulf of Maine in late November and early December 2012, two gliders reported over 25 000 acoustic detections attributed to fin, humpback, sei, and right whales. The overall false detection rate for individual calls was 14%, and for right, humpback, and fin whales, false predictions of occurrence during 15-min reporting periods were 5% or less. Transmitted pitch tracks—compact representations of sounds—allowed unambiguous identification of both humpback and fin whale song. Of the ten cases when whales were sighted during aerial or shipboard surveys and a glider was within 20 km of the sighting location, nine were accompanied by real-time acoustic detections of the same species by the glider within ±12 h of the sighting time.The Office of Naval Research funded this work, with additional support provided by the NOAA Fisheries Advanced Sampling Technologies Working Group via the Cooperative Institute for the North Atlantic Region

Detections of whale vocalizations by simultaneously deployed bottom-moored and deep-water mobile autonomous hydrophones

Funding for this work was provided by the Living Marine Resources Program (N39430-14-C-1435 and N39430-14-C-1434), the Office of Naval Research (N00014-15-1-2142, N00014-10-1-0534, and N00014-13-1-0682), and NOAA’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center. SF was supported by the National Science and Engineering Graduate Fellowship.Advances in mobile autonomous platforms for oceanographic sensing, including gliders and deep-water profiling floats, have provided new opportunities for passive acoustic monitoring (PAM) of cetaceans. However, there are few direct comparisons of these mobile autonomous systems to more traditional methods, such as stationary bottom moored recorders. Cross-platform comparisons are necessary to enable interpretation of results across historical and contemporary surveys that use different recorder types, and to identify potential biases introduced by the platform. Understanding tradeoffs across recording platforms informs best practices for future cetacean monitoring efforts. This study directly compares the PAM capabilities of a glider (Seaglider) and a deep-water profiling float (QUEphone) to a stationary seafloor system (High-frequency Acoustic Recording Package, or HARP) deployed simultaneously over a 2 week period in the Catalina Basin, California, United States. Two HARPs were deployed 4 km apart while a glider and deep-water float surveyed within 20 km of the HARPs. Acoustic recordings were analyzed for the presence of multiple cetacean species, including beaked whales, delphinids, and minke whales. Variation in acoustic occurrence at 1-min (beaked whales only), hourly, and daily scales were examined. The number of minutes, hours, and days with beaked whale echolocation clicks were variable across recorders, likely due to differences in the noise floor of each recording system, the spatial distribution of the recorders, and the short detection radius of such a high-frequency, directional signal type. Delphinid whistles and clicks were prevalent across all recorders, and at levels that may have masked beaked whale vocalizations. The number and timing of hours and days with minke whale boing sounds were nearly identical across recorder types, as was expected given the relatively long propagation distance of boings. This comparison provides evidence that gliders and deep-water floats record cetaceans at similar detection rates to traditional stationary recorders at a single point. The spatiotemporal scale over which these single hydrophone systems record sounds is highly dependent on acoustic features of the sound source. Additionally, these mobile platforms provide improved spatial coverage which may be critical for species that produce calls that propagate only over short distances such as beaked whales.Publisher PDFPeer reviewe

Arctic Marine Data Collection Using Oceanic Gliders: Providing Ecological Context to Cetacean Vocalizations

To achieve effective management and understanding of risks associated with increasing anthropogenic pressures in the ocean, it is essential to successfully and efficiently collect data with high spatio–temporal resolution and coverage. Autonomous Underwater Vehicles (AUVs) are an example of technological advances with potential to provide improved information on ocean processes. We demonstrate the capabilities of a low-power AUV buoyancy glider for performing long endurance biological and environmental data acquisition in Northern Norway. We deployed a passive acoustic sensor system onboard a SeagliderTM to investigate presence and distribution of cetaceans while concurrently using additional onboard sensors for recording environmental features (temperature, salinity, pressure, dissolved oxygen, and chlorophyll a). The hydrophone recorded over 108.6 h of acoustic data during the spring months of March and April across the continental shelf break and detected both baleen and odontocete species. We observed a change in cetacean detections throughout the survey period, with humpback whale calls dominating the soundscape in the first weeks of deployment, coinciding with the migration toward their breeding grounds. From mid-April, sperm whales and delphinids were the predominant species, which coincided with increasing chlorophyll a fluorescence values associated with the spring phytoplankton blooms. Finally, we report daily variations in background noise associated with fishing activities and traffic in the nearby East Atlantic shipping route. Our results show that gliders provide excellent platforms for collecting information about ecosystems with minimal disturbance to animals, allowing systematic observations of our ocean biodiversity and ecosystem dynamics in response to natural variations and industrial activities.publishedVersio

Application of a Winch-type Towed Acoustic Sensor to a Wave-powered Unmanned Surface Vehicle

Although many countries have focused on anti-submarine warfare for several decades, underwater submarines can hardly be detected by current assets such as patrol aircraft, surface ships and fixed underwater surveillance systems. Due to the difficult conditions of the oceanic environment and the relative quietness of submarines, existing acoustic surveillance platforms are not able to fully cover their mission areas. To fill in the gaps, a winch-type towed acoustic sensor system was developed and integrated into a wave-powered unmanned surface vehicle by the Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology. In June 2015, sea trial tests were conducted to verify maneuvering, acoustic signal detection, and communication capabilities. During the maneuvering test, the wave-powered glider successfully moved along programmed waypoints. Despite towing the acoustic sensor system, only 20% of initial electricity was consumed in 20 days. The acoustic sensor was lowered to depths of 100–150 m by the winch system, and received signals from an acoustic simulator lowered to depths of 50–100 m by RV Jangmok. Simulated submarine noises that were refracted downward could be clearly received and classified by the hydrophone system, from distances of 2–8 km, while it was being towed silently and deeply. In addition, an optical camera provided high-resolution images of surface vessels, allowing integration with acoustic detection of underwater objects. In conclusion, this new platform using a deeply towed hydrophone system is worthy of consideration as an underwater surveillance asset. Future work is required to strengthen inter-asset communication and obstacle avoidance, and to overcome strong currents to make this technology a reliable part of the underwater surveillance network

Guidance on acoustic monitoring from marine autonomous vehicles

A feasibility study presenting results from acoustic monitoring from marine autonomous vehicles in typical coastal ocean conditions (i.e. 50-­100m depth) to investigate current capability in measuring marine noise levels and detection of vocalisation of marine mammals and to provide guidance on future us

A review of unmanned vehicles for the detection and monitoring of marine fauna

Recent technology developments have turned present-day unmanned systems into realistic alternatives to traditional marine animal survey methods. Benefits include longer survey durations, improved mission safety, mission repeatability, and reduced operational costs. We review the present status of unmanned vehicles suitable for marine animal monitoring conducted in relation to industrial offshore activities, highlighting which systems are suitable for three main monitoring types: population, mitigation, and focal animal monitoring. We describe the technical requirements for each of these monitoring types and discuss the operational aspects. The selection of a specific sensor/platform combination depends critically on the target species and its behaviour. The technical specifications of unmanned platforms and sensors also need to be selected based on the surrounding conditions of a particular offshore project, such as the area of interest, the survey requirements and operational constraints