ASTAPA
type: Concept
in scheme: projects
definition: Short Title: ASTAPA Proposal URL: http://classic.ipy.org/development/eoi/proposal-details.php?id=293 Using a unique Canadian technology, the ASTAPA system will supplement existing and planned ocean observing systems with the capacity to monitor passages of rare and commercially important animals for up to 20 years and will also extend the reach of physical monitoring systems. The original concept of an Arctic Curtain& (EOI 640, Canada ) to monitor seasonal migrations of fish, expanded through the IPY process and a global proposal to the Canadian Foundation of Innovation for an Ocean Shelf Tracking and Physic Array (OSTAPA). The original EOI for a single line of acoustic receivers through the narrowest channels in the Canadian Archipelago drew interest from marine mammal trackers and ocean observers from the Bering Strait to Norway. So, ASTAPA now includes multiple lines to record direction and speed of travel as well as local oceanographics at key passages. ASTAPA would have the proven data gathering and management capacity of the operational Census of Marine Life (COML) Pacific Ocean Shelf Tracking (POST) project (www.postcoml.org) to tag animals as small as 20g with individually unique acoustic codes and to follow larger tags for up to 20 years. The Arctic is a more challenging environment, but the POST personnel with technical experience will work with DFO colleagues to develop the logistics for putting the system in place. A consortium would be developed to maintain receiver lines. VR3 receivers, produced by Canadian manufacturer, VEMCO-AMIRIX, allow frequent data recovery for up to seven years simply by putting a hydrophone modem connection in the water. In the Arctic this can be done throughout the winter through an ice hole, and in summer from small boats. Individual receivers record the presence of a tag within a kilometer, so tagged animal movements in open water or under ice can be tracked. Also, VR3s have sensors to measure, store and download physical da…

A - C
type: Concept