| Summary: | Progress Code: onGoing Statement: Images were intended to capture surfacing pygmy blue whales, but not many were actually photographed. Purpose The Antarctic Blue Whale Project (ABWP; an initiative within the IWC Southern Ocean Research Partnership) has the primary aim of estimating circumpolar abundance of Antarctic blue whales (Balaenoptera musculus intermedia) in the Southern Ocean. Initial research within ABWP focussed on developing and testing passive acoustics methods for blue whales. For this, a series of voyages and an aerial survey were undertaken in early 2012 on the Bonney Upwelling, along the south-east coast of Australia, an area known to be a summer (Nov-May) feeding ground for pygmy blue whales; the surveys focussed on the area bounded by 141.0-143.0ºE and 38.0-39.5ºS. The aerial survey component was undertaken 13-24 January 2012, with the aim of estimating the number of pygmy blue whales along the Bonney Upwelling, to help calibrate the passive acoustics results. This dataset is a collection of aerial images taken from a camera mounted in the fuselage of the CASA-212 400 aircraft used to survey for pygmy blue whales. Line transect data from that survey are also available (but see Gill, P.C., Pirzl, R., Morrice, M.G. and Lawton, K. (2015). "Cetacean diversity of the continental shelf and slope off southern australia." The Journal of Wildlife Management 79(4): 672-681 for more details). The digital images were taken with a Nikon D200 camera, using a 35mm lens. The survey altitude was approximately 1500 ft. Images have full EXIF data attached. Image footprints are approximately 204 m along-track by 306 m across track, with some image overlap. Aerial images; downward facing images along track from a line transect survey. There are ~41K jpeg images. Images taken with Nikon D200 camera, with 35 mm lens. Aerial survey altitude was approximately 1500 ft. Each image has a water-surface footprint of 204 m along-track by 306 m across track; there is some image overlap along-track. The EXIF data for ...
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