Wave Propagation in the Biosonar Organ of sperm whales using a Finite Difference Time Domain method

• Main Authors: Ferrari, Maxence, Marxer, Ricard, Asch, Mark, Glotin, Hervé
• Other Authors: Laboratoire d'Informatique et des Systèmes (LIS) (Marseille, Toulon) (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), DYNamiques de l’Information (DYNI), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Université de Toulon (UTLN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)-Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Université de Toulon (UTLN)-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), University of Sheffield Sheffield, Laboratoire des Sciences de l'Information et des Systèmes (LSIS), Aix Marseille Université (AMU)-Université de Toulon (UTLN)-Arts et Métiers Paristech ENSAM Aix-en-Provence-Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Format: Conference Object
• Language: English
• Published: HAL CCSD 2019
• Subjects: [INFO.INFO-MO]Computer Science [cs]/Modeling and Simulation; [PHYS.MECA.ACOU]Physics [physics]/Mechanics [physics]/Acoustics [physics.class-ph]; [PHYS.PHYS.PHYS-BIO-PH]Physics [physics]/Physics [physics]/Biological Physics [physics.bio-ph]; Sperm whale
• Online Access: https://hal.science/hal-02445408; https://hal.science/hal-02445408/document; https://hal.science/hal-02445408/file/VIHAR_2019.pdf

International audience The bio-sonar of sperm whales presents many specific characteristics, such as its size, its loudness or its vocalization abilities. Furthermore it fulfills several roles in their foraging and social behaviour. However our knowledge about its operation remains limited to the main acoustic path that the emitted pulse may take. We still ignore the precise mechanisms that shape the wave and on which parts the sperm whale is able to act. In this paper, we describe a technique to simulate sperm whale click generation from a physical perspective. Such an approach aims at unveiling the processes involved in their vocal production, as a stepping stone towards a better understanding of their interaction with peers and the environment.