Source levels of fin whale 20 Hz pulses measured in the Northeast Pacific Ocean

Weirathmueller, Michelle; Wilcock, William S. D.; Soule, D. C.

doi:10.1121/1.4773277

Cited by 46 publications

(40 citation statements)

References 37 publications

(48 reference statements)

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“…The fin whale 20-Hz centered vocalization source level estimates obtained here in the Gulf of Maine compare well with previous estimates from other ocean areas, including the western Antarctic Peninsula [33], Northeast [34] and Central [79] Pacific Ocean. In general, the range of fin whale vocalization source level estimates from previous studies either overlap well with [5,80] or lie fully [33,34,79] within the range of fin whale vocalization source level estimates obtained here and shown in Figure 4E.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

“…In general, the range of fin whale vocalization source level estimates from previous studies either overlap well with [5,80] or lie fully [33,34,79] within the range of fin whale vocalization source level estimates obtained here and shown in Figure 4E.…”

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 49%

“…Vocalization source level is also essential for determining marine mammal communication ranges, which are key considerations in assessing the impact of anthropogenic sound on marine mammal behavior [31,32]. Previous estimates of vocalization source level for the baleen whale species considered here include fin whales off the Western Antarctic Peninsula and near Juan de Fuca Ridge of the northeast Pacific Ocean [33,34]; sei whales on the continental shelf off New Jersey [35]; minke whales near the Great Barrier Reef, Hawaii, and the Stellwagen Bank area of the Gulf of Maine [28,36,37]; and blue whales distributed in multiple ocean areas, including both the Pacific and Atlantic Ocean [15,33,[38][39][40]. Previous vocalization source level estimates typically focused on a single species based on vocalization sample sizes ranging from a few tens to a few hundred.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Vocalization Source Level Distributions and Pulse Compression Gains of Diverse Baleen Whale Species in the Gulf of Maine

et al. 2016

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Abstract:The vocalization source level distributions and pulse compression gains are estimated for four distinct baleen whale species in the Gulf of Maine: fin, sei, minke and an unidentified baleen whale species. The vocalizations were received on a large-aperture densely-sampled coherent hydrophone array system useful for monitoring marine mammals over instantaneous wide areas via the passive ocean acoustic waveguide remote sensing technique. For each baleen whale species, between 125 and over 1400 measured vocalizations with significantly high Signal-to-Noise Ratios (SNR > 10 dB) after coherent beamforming and localized with high accuracies (<10% localization errors) over ranges spanning roughly 1 km-30 km are included in the analysis. The whale vocalization received pressure levels are corrected for broadband transmission losses modeled using a calibrated parabolic equation-based acoustic propagation model for a random range-dependent ocean waveguide. The whale vocalization source level distributions are characterized by the following means and standard deviations, in units of dB re 1 µPa at 1 m: 181.9 ± 5.2 for fin whale 20-Hz pulses, 173.5 ± 3.2 for sei whale downsweep chirps, 177.7 ± 5.4 for minke whale pulse trains and 169.6 ± 3.5 for the unidentified baleen whale species downsweep calls. The broadband vocalization equivalent pulse-compression gains are found to be 2.5 ± 1.1 for fin whale 20-Hz pulses, 24 ± 10 for the unidentified baleen whale species downsweep calls and 69 ± 23 for sei whale downsweep chirps. These pulse compression gains are found to be roughly proportional to the inter-pulse intervals of the vocalizations, which are 11 ± 5 s for fin whale 20-Hz pulses, 29 ± 18 for the unidentified baleen whale species downsweep calls and 52 ± 33 for sei whale downsweep chirps. The source level distributions and pulse compression gains are essential for determining signal-to-noise ratios and hence detection regions for baleen whale vocalizations received passively on underwater acoustic sensing systems, as well as for assessing communication ranges in baleen whales.

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Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 76%

Section: Discussionsupporting

confidence: 49%

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

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Vocalization Source Level Distributions and Pulse Compression Gains of Diverse Baleen Whale Species in the Gulf of Maine

et al. 2016

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“…For example, one of the assumptions we made was the source level of the call. Even though there can be variability in the call source levels (Watkins et al 1987, McDonald et al 2001, Weirathmueller et al 2013, for the purposes of implementation, we had to choose one number and used average reported source level from a study. In the case of blue whales, however, assuming variability in calls from 180 to 190 dB (McDonald et al 2001), the detection range could vary by 7−23% and detection area by 2-5%.…”

Section: Data Biasesmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…For blue whale B calls, we ran the propagation model for 46 Hz, assuming call source level (SL) 186 dB re: 1 μPa @ 1 m (McDonald et al 2001). For fin whales, the model was run for 22 Hz and call SL 189 dB re: 1 μPa @ 1 m (Weirathmueller et al 2013), adjusted for average 5 Hz bandwidth of fin whale calls (Watkins 1981, Watkins et al 1987. In both cases, we assumed a whale calling depth of 30 m (Oleson et al 2007a).…”

Section: Detection Range Calculationsmentioning

confidence: 99%

Seven years of blue and fin whale call abundance in the Southern California Bight

irović¹,

Rice²,

Chou³

et al. 2015

Endang. Species. Res.

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Blue whales Balaenoptera musculus and fin whales B. physalus are common inhabitants of the Southern California Bight (SCB), but little is known about the spatial and temporal variability of their use of this area. To study their distribution in the SCB, high-frequency acoustic recording packages were intermittently deployed at 16 locations across the SCB from 2006 to 2012. Presence of blue whale B calls and fin whale 20 Hz calls was determined using 2 types of automatic detection methods, i.e. spectrogram correlation and acoustic energy detection, respectively. Blue whale B calls were generally detected between June and January, with a peak in September, with an overall total of over 3 million detections. Fin whale 20 Hz calls, measured via the fin whale call index, were present year-round, with the highest values between September and December, with a peak in November. Blue whale calls were more common at coastal sites and near the northern Channel Islands, while the fin whale call index was highest in the central and southern areas of the SCB, indicating a possible difference in habitat preferences of the 2 species in this area. Across years, a peak in blue whale call detections occurred in 2008, with minima in 2006 and 2007, but there was no long-term trend. There was an increase in the fin whale call index during this period. These trends are consistent with visual survey estimates for both species in Southern California, providing evidence that passive acoustics can be a powerful tool to monitor population trends for these endangered species.

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Microseismicity Linked to Gas Migration and Leakage on the Western Svalbard Shelf

Franek

Plaza‐Faverola

Mienert

et al. 2017

Geochem Geophys Geosyst

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The continental margin off Prins Karls Forland, western Svalbard, is characterized by widespread natural gas seepage into the water column at and upslope of the gas hydrate stability zone. We deployed an ocean bottom seismometer integrated into the MASOX (Monitoring Arctic Seafloor‐Ocean Exchange) automated seabed observatory at the pinch‐out of this zone at 389 m water depth to investigate passive seismicity over a continuous 297 day period from 13 October 2010. An automated triggering algorithm was applied to detect over 220,000 short duration events (SDEs) defined as having a duration of less than 1 s. The analysis reveals two different types of SDEs, each with a distinctive characteristic seismic signature. We infer that the first type consists of vocal signals generated by moving mammals, likely finback whales. The second type corresponds to signals with a source within a few hundred meters of the seismometer, either due east or west, that vary on short (∼tens of days) and seasonal time scales. Based on evidence of prevalent seafloor seepage and subseafloor gas accumulations, we hypothesize that the second type of SDEs is related to subseafloor fluid migration and gas seepage. Furthermore, we postulate that the observed temporal variations in microseismicity are driven by transient fluid release and due to the dynamics of thermally forced, seasonal gas hydrate decomposition. Our analysis presents a novel technique for monitoring the duration, intensity, and periodicity of fluid migration and seepage at the seabed and can help elucidate the environmental controls on gas hydrate decomposition and release.

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Source levels of fin whale 20 Hz pulses measured in the Northeast Pacific Ocean

Cited by 46 publications

References 37 publications

Vocalization Source Level Distributions and Pulse Compression Gains of Diverse Baleen Whale Species in the Gulf of Maine

Vocalization Source Level Distributions and Pulse Compression Gains of Diverse Baleen Whale Species in the Gulf of Maine

Seven years of blue and fin whale call abundance in the Southern California Bight

Microseismicity Linked to Gas Migration and Leakage on the Western Svalbard Shelf

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