Seals from Space: Developing techniques to use satellite remote sensing to census pack-ice seals in the Prydz Bay region of East Antarctica

• Other Authors: AADC (originator), AU/AADC > Australian Antarctic Data Centre, Australia (resourceProvider)
• Format: Dataset
• Language: unknown
• Published: Australian Ocean Data Network
• Subjects: biota; oceans; SEALS/SEA LIONS/WALRUSES; EARTH SCIENCE; BIOLOGICAL CLASSIFICATION; ANIMALS/VERTEBRATES; MAMMALS; CARNIVORES; PACK ICE; CRYOSPHERE; SEA ICE; Satellite Imagery; Pack-ice seals; CAMERAS; SATELLITES; WORLDVIEW-2; AMD/AU; AMD; CEOS; GEOGRAPHIC REGION > POLAR; CONTINENT > ANTARCTICA; OCEAN > SOUTHERN OCEAN > Prydz Bay; East Antarctica; Southern Ocean; Weddell; Antarc*; Antarctica; Leopard Seals; Sea ice; Weddell Seals; walrus*
• Online Access: https://researchdata.ands.org.au/seals-space-developing-east-antarctica/934439; https://data.aad.gov.au/metadata/records/AAS_4328_satellite_seals; https://data.aad.gov.au/eds/5053/download; https://data.aad.gov.au/aadc/metadata/citation.cfm?entry_id=AAS_4328_satellite_seals; https://secure3.aad.gov.au/proms/public/projects/report_project_public.cfm?project_no=4328

These data should be used with caution. The data have been assessed by AADC staff as being of low quality, and updates or contextual information have not been provided by the responsible scientist . Despite being a ubiquitous and abundant component of the Southern Ocean ecosystem, pack-ice seals (crabeater, Ross and leopard seals) are notoriously difficult to census as they are sparsely distributed over large regions of remote pack-ice. Historically, population censuses have been made from ship- or helicopter-based surveys, which are expensive and logistically difficult, and this inevitably leads to data which are limited, in time and space. High resolution images allow us now to accurately census seals e.g. elephant and Weddell seals at unprecedented spatial and temporal scales. Using this technology promises to provide regular estimates of the numbers of pack-ice seals in important regions such as Prydz Bay This study will develop techniques to survey pack-ice seals from high resolution satellite images, including automatic detection functions and a preliminary habitat model based on the characteristics of the ice contained in the images. This project aims to develop a cost-effective method for estimating the number of pack-ice seals from satellite images.