Concept information
Preferred term
ABES
Definition
- This project will advance the methods for monitoring seismic and biological activity in the Southern Ocean by the use of long-term passive acoustic recordings. We propose to deploy an array of four SHARPs (Seismic and High-frequency Acoustic Recording Packages) circumpolarly around the Antarctic Continent, over year-long periods. We will collect data on acoustic call characteristics and source level for a broad range of marine mammal and other species. The improved technology for passive monitoring will allow us to expand the range of marine mammal species monitored to include the largest odontocetes: sperm (Physeter macrocephalus), killer (Orcinus orca), beaked (Mesoplodon spp), and possibly southern bottlenose whales (Hyperoodon planifrons), all the mysticetes known to inhabit the Southern Ocean: blue (Balaenoptera musculus), fin (B. physalus), sei (B. borealis), humpback (Megaptera novaeangliae), southern right (Eubalaena australis), and minke whales (B. bonaerensis), as well as most pinnipeds: leopard (Hydrurga leptonyx), Weddell (Leptonychotes weddellii), crabeater (Lobodon carcinophagus), Ross (Ommatophoca rossii), southern elephant (Mirounga leonine), and fur seals. Fish choruses should also be present in these data and are know to produce sounds with diurnal variability. The acoustic data will be used to investigate the seasonality and abundance of these species in the Southern Ocean, as well as the ways that physical and biological processes interact to determine the patterns of distribution and abundance of cetaceans in the Antarctic. At the same time this project will fill a large gap in global seismic coverage by placing seafloor seismic sensors at Southern Ocean locations, far from existing sites. These seismic sensors will lead to a more uniform coverage for seismic wave propagation within the Earth, and better understanding of local seismicity in the Southern Ocean. The recording packages that we propose to deploy in the Southern Ocean are a proto-type ocean observatory. They have significant data recording capacity (1600 Gbytes) and can support batteries sufficient for year-long deployments of seismic, acoustic and other sensors. We plan to expand the range of sensors recorded by these instruments beyond the seismic/acoustic sensors currently proposed, and in so doing create a facility for long-term multi-disciplinary observations. This proposal will have a broader impact on society by providing support for graduate education, developing infrastructure for future multi-disciplinary observation platforms, and providing support for outreach projects. The development of SHARPs will advance our capabilities for scientific monitoring and will serve as starting platforms for future, more integrated observation stations. This project will serve as an educational platform to enable K-12 students to virtually experience Antarctica in a way that represents its geographic and biologic diversity. To this end, we will incorporate educational material gathered from this experiment into our museum exhibit “Voices in the Sea” at the Aquarium of the Pacific (Long Beach, CA), Summary provided by http://classic.ipy.org/development/eoi/proposal-details.php?id=52 (en)
Broader concept
- A - C (en)
URI
https://gcmd.earthdata.nasa.gov/kms/concept/bb6d33f4-cbd1-4a07-9cf1-4b329da20897
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