A Real-Time Acoustic Observatory for Sperm-Whale Localization in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea
A deep-water acoustic observatory for real-time detection and localization of vocalizing sperm whales was developed, deployed and operated for two 3-month periods in summer 2020 and 2021, off south-west Crete in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, in the framework of the SAvEWhales project. Regular click...
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ftdoajarticles:oai:doaj.org/article:8b90052edabf49e2a01ff3432c0007b3 2023-05-15T18:26:42+02:00 A Real-Time Acoustic Observatory for Sperm-Whale Localization in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea Emmanuel K. Skarsoulis George S. Piperakis Emmanuel Orfanakis Panagiotis Papadakis Despoina Pavlidi Michael A. Kalogerakis Paraskevi Alexiadou Alexandros Frantzis 2022-05-01T00:00:00Z https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.873888 https://doaj.org/article/8b90052edabf49e2a01ff3432c0007b3 EN eng Frontiers Media S.A. https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.873888/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2022.873888 https://doaj.org/article/8b90052edabf49e2a01ff3432c0007b3 Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 9 (2022) sperm whales acoustic observatory Bayesian localization ray theory travel times Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 article 2022 ftdoajarticles https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.873888 2022-12-30T22:37:52Z A deep-water acoustic observatory for real-time detection and localization of vocalizing sperm whales was developed, deployed and operated for two 3-month periods in summer 2020 and 2021, off south-west Crete in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, in the framework of the SAvEWhales project. Regular clicks, pulsed sounds produced by the diving animals, were detected and localized using a large-aperture array of three hydrophones suspended from surface buoys at depths of about 100 m and 1-2 km apart. Travel times of significant arrivals, arrivals with magnitude above a certain threshold, were extracted in situ and transmitted, together with other supporting data, via mobile broadband to a land-based analysis center. Upon reception, the data from all buoys were combined to enable detection and 3D localization of vocalizing animals exploiting direct and surface-reflected arrivals and using a Bayesian approach. The large separations between hydrophones resulted in small localization uncertainties for ranges up to 7 km; on the other hand, they posed significant challenges related to synchronization and peak association between the buoys, as well as because of the directionality of sperm whale clicks. The integrated observing system which has been successfully tested in detecting and localizing sperm whales can have a significant effect in mitigating ship strikes on whales, the prominent threat for sperm whales in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, by providing information about the presence and location of the animals in real time. The design and implementation, as well as results from the operation and validation of the acoustic observatory are presented. Article in Journal/Newspaper Sperm whale Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles Frontiers in Marine Science 9 |
institution |
Open Polar |
collection |
Directory of Open Access Journals: DOAJ Articles |
op_collection_id |
ftdoajarticles |
language |
English |
topic |
sperm whales acoustic observatory Bayesian localization ray theory travel times Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
spellingShingle |
sperm whales acoustic observatory Bayesian localization ray theory travel times Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 Emmanuel K. Skarsoulis George S. Piperakis Emmanuel Orfanakis Panagiotis Papadakis Despoina Pavlidi Michael A. Kalogerakis Paraskevi Alexiadou Alexandros Frantzis A Real-Time Acoustic Observatory for Sperm-Whale Localization in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea |
topic_facet |
sperm whales acoustic observatory Bayesian localization ray theory travel times Science Q General. Including nature conservation geographical distribution QH1-199.5 |
description |
A deep-water acoustic observatory for real-time detection and localization of vocalizing sperm whales was developed, deployed and operated for two 3-month periods in summer 2020 and 2021, off south-west Crete in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, in the framework of the SAvEWhales project. Regular clicks, pulsed sounds produced by the diving animals, were detected and localized using a large-aperture array of three hydrophones suspended from surface buoys at depths of about 100 m and 1-2 km apart. Travel times of significant arrivals, arrivals with magnitude above a certain threshold, were extracted in situ and transmitted, together with other supporting data, via mobile broadband to a land-based analysis center. Upon reception, the data from all buoys were combined to enable detection and 3D localization of vocalizing animals exploiting direct and surface-reflected arrivals and using a Bayesian approach. The large separations between hydrophones resulted in small localization uncertainties for ranges up to 7 km; on the other hand, they posed significant challenges related to synchronization and peak association between the buoys, as well as because of the directionality of sperm whale clicks. The integrated observing system which has been successfully tested in detecting and localizing sperm whales can have a significant effect in mitigating ship strikes on whales, the prominent threat for sperm whales in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea, by providing information about the presence and location of the animals in real time. The design and implementation, as well as results from the operation and validation of the acoustic observatory are presented. |
format |
Article in Journal/Newspaper |
author |
Emmanuel K. Skarsoulis George S. Piperakis Emmanuel Orfanakis Panagiotis Papadakis Despoina Pavlidi Michael A. Kalogerakis Paraskevi Alexiadou Alexandros Frantzis |
author_facet |
Emmanuel K. Skarsoulis George S. Piperakis Emmanuel Orfanakis Panagiotis Papadakis Despoina Pavlidi Michael A. Kalogerakis Paraskevi Alexiadou Alexandros Frantzis |
author_sort |
Emmanuel K. Skarsoulis |
title |
A Real-Time Acoustic Observatory for Sperm-Whale Localization in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea |
title_short |
A Real-Time Acoustic Observatory for Sperm-Whale Localization in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea |
title_full |
A Real-Time Acoustic Observatory for Sperm-Whale Localization in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea |
title_fullStr |
A Real-Time Acoustic Observatory for Sperm-Whale Localization in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea |
title_full_unstemmed |
A Real-Time Acoustic Observatory for Sperm-Whale Localization in the Eastern Mediterranean Sea |
title_sort |
real-time acoustic observatory for sperm-whale localization in the eastern mediterranean sea |
publisher |
Frontiers Media S.A. |
publishDate |
2022 |
url |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.873888 https://doaj.org/article/8b90052edabf49e2a01ff3432c0007b3 |
genre |
Sperm whale |
genre_facet |
Sperm whale |
op_source |
Frontiers in Marine Science, Vol 9 (2022) |
op_relation |
https://www.frontiersin.org/articles/10.3389/fmars.2022.873888/full https://doaj.org/toc/2296-7745 2296-7745 doi:10.3389/fmars.2022.873888 https://doaj.org/article/8b90052edabf49e2a01ff3432c0007b3 |
op_doi |
https://doi.org/10.3389/fmars.2022.873888 |
container_title |
Frontiers in Marine Science |
container_volume |
9 |
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1766208672112836608 |