Study of a Biosonar Based on the Modeling of a Complete Chain of Emission-Propagation-Reception with Validation on Sperm Whales

• Main Author: Ferrari, Maxence
• Other Authors: Laboratoire d'Informatique et Systèmes (LIS), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Université de Toulon (UTLN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Laboratoire Amiénois de Mathématique Fondamentale et Appliquée - UMR CNRS 7352 (LAMFA), Université de Picardie Jules Verne (UPJV)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Université Picardie Jules Verne, Mark Asch, Hervé Glotin, Ricard Marxer
• Format: Doctoral or Postdoctoral Thesis
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2020
• Subjects: Sperm whale; Sonar; Simulation; Cachalot; [INFO.INFO-AI]Computer Science [cs]/Artificial Intelligence [cs.AI]; [INFO.INFO-DB]Computer Science [cs]/Databases [cs.DB]; [PHYS.MECA.ACOU]Physics [physics]/Mechanics [physics]/Acoustics [physics.class-ph]; Physeter macrocephalus
• Online Access: https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-03078625; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-03078625/document; https://hal.archives-ouvertes.fr/tel-03078625/file/PhD_16_12_20.pdf

The sperm whale, Physeter macrocephalus, possesses the largest biosonar in nature. Made ofmultiple oil sacs, the sperm whale sonar is tailored to function from the sea surface downto a depth of 2 kilometers, emitting clicks as loud as 236 dB, and is multipurpose, as itproduces clicks for either echolocation or socializing. However, the liquid wax that composesits sonar, made the sperm whales the target of whaling until 1986, when the remainingpopulation was far too small to remain commercially viable, especially with the arrival ofsimilar products from the petrochemical industry. The sperm whale population still facessome human threats, with the ingestion of plastic and collision with boats continuing to takea toll on their numbers. Studying sperm whales thus will have outcomes in multiple fields,in conservation, ethology, as well as in bioacoustics. Understanding the mechanism thatgoverns the sperm whale sonar will help to study these other fields, as it is a key element inthe sperm whale life. Aiming for this goal, this thesis analyzes three databases with distinctcharacteristics, obtaining the trajectory of sperm whale dives. Clicks were also linked withthe sperm whale that emitted them over multiple years of recording of the same population.An efficient End-to-End deep learning classifier was trained to classify biosonar waveforms.A simulation of wave propagation through the sperm whale head was also developed tobetter understand the complex mechanism of this sonar. Finally, a coupling method wasdeveloped to improve the parameters of the simulation using the recorded clicks from theaforementioned databases. Le cachalot, Physeter macrocephalus, possède le plus grand biosonar de la nature. Composéde plusieurs poches d’huile, le sonar du cachalot est conçu pour fonctionner de la surface de lamer jusqu’à une profondeur de 2 kilomètres, émettant des clics pouvant aller jusqu’à 236 dB,et est polyvalent, car il produit des clics pour l’écholocation ou la socialisation. Cependant,la cire liquide qui compose le ...