SX90 sonar data in the Beaufort Sea: 2011

The data set is composed of raw files recorded with the Kongsberg Maritime SX90 long-range, low frequency (20-30 kHz) fisheries sonar during the CCGS Amundsen 2011 summer expedition in the Beaufort Sea. The sonar was operated during 4 dedicated surveys (109 hours) and during 258 hours of opportunist...

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Bibliographic Details
Main Authors: Fortier, Louis, Geoffroy, Maxime, Gammelsaeter, Ole Bernt, Rousseau, Shani, Vartdal, Didrik
Format: Dataset
Language:English
Published: Canadian Cryospheric Information Network 2015
Subjects:
Online Access:https://dx.doi.org/10.5443/11375
https://www.polardata.ca/pdcsearch/?doi_id=11375
Description
Summary:The data set is composed of raw files recorded with the Kongsberg Maritime SX90 long-range, low frequency (20-30 kHz) fisheries sonar during the CCGS Amundsen 2011 summer expedition in the Beaufort Sea. The sonar was operated during 4 dedicated surveys (109 hours) and during 258 hours of opportunistic survey, from 27 August to 3 October. The sonar transducer was lowered 2.5 feet below the hull through a gate-valve. The cylindrical 256-elements transducer allows both a horizontal and a vertical sound transmission, and the omni-directional sonar beam can be tilted from +10 to -60 degrees to scan a large portion of the water column. The raw acoustic data were saved onto an external drive and print screens of interesting targets (fish schools and/or marine mammals) were recorded. : Purpose: Environmental changes and the recent interest in offshore hydrocarbon resources have heightened the need for data and an understanding of aquatic ecosystem components in the Beaufort Sea/Mackenzie Shelf/Amundsen Gulf region. Here, the use of a fisheries sonar to detect and identify fish and marine mammals is investigated. In addition to the larger coverage relative to that of an echosounder, fisheries sonars allow detection of targets up to 1 m below the ocean surface and at distances of up to 2 km from the vessel, thereby reducing biases related to vessel. The fish component of this study aims at detecting Arctic cod aggregations near the surface using the SX90 sonar, and to document their distribution, size and migration patterns. The marine mammal component aims at assessing the effectiveness of the SX90 sonar to detect marine mammals at a distance from the vessel, and to establish acoustic recognition criteria. : Summary: Not applicable