NE Baumann-Pickering FY19 DURIP
Abstract
Marine mammals, particularly beaked whales, are of concern to the US Navy in regard to noise impacts during naval training exercises. To successfully quantify behavioral responses to noise and potential short- and long-term impacts, it is essential to track individuals and their behaviors under natural as well as disturbed circumstances. Behavioral responses caused by naval sound sources, especially mid-frequency active sonar (MFAS), will likely be dependent upon the behavioral state of an individual. This behavioral state in turn is often driven by the underlying environmental conditions which determine prey distributions as a driver for beaked whale presence. Proposed is the procurement of two passive-active acoustic tracking (PAAT) moorings to conduct predator-prey and noise impact studies. They are designed to determine how oceanographic conditions influence prey abundance and distribution and consequently predator foraging behavior and habitat use with a focus on beaked whales. The data to be collected with this type of mooring can be analyzed on an individual level, but also serve to develop behavioral and habitat models. With it, we can begin to incorporate ecosystem-based management practices to mitigate noise impacts on marine mammals, specifically beaked whales, caused by US Navy training operations. Each of the two moorings consists of two four-channel High-frequency Acoustic Recording Packages (HARP, Scripps Oceanographic of Oceanography), one situated near the seafloor and the other at 300 m water depth. Two upward looking wideband autonomous transceivers (WBAT, Simrad) and transducers with a nominal frequency of 70 kHz that are capable of sweeping from 55 to 90 kHz will be placed near the seafloor and at 400 m water depth. Two conductivity-temperature-depth recorders with oxygen sensors (SeaBird SBE 37SMP-ODO) will be installed close to the active acoustic components.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Aug 20, 2019
- Source ID
- N000141912647
Entities
People
- Simone Baumann-Pickering
Organizations
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy
- University of California, San Diego