Web-based visualization of long-term ocean acoustic observations and modelled soundscapes

Abstract

The Atlantic Deepwater Ecosystem Observatory Network (ADEON) is an array of hydrophones deployed along the U.S. Mid- and South Atlantic Outer Continental Shelf, that has been collecting long-term measurements of natural and human sounds in the region since 2017. This presentation focuses on the design and implementation of a web-based geospatial visualization interface that allows anyone to easily explore the massive datasets being generated in order to gain insight about the ecology and soundscape of the region. Visitors to the public website can use an interactive map of the ADEON project region to see the locations of the hydrophone deployments, 2D overlays of contextual data such as sea surface temperature and chlorophyll levels, and 3D modelled soundscapes. Selecting individual deployment stations brings up visualization interfaces that provide multiple ways to explore the data that has been collected there. A perceptually optimized tri-level spectrogram viewer permits rapid exploration of multiple years of raw recordings, and a similar deviations viewer reveals times when the ocean was unusually loud (or quiet) at various frequencies. An interactive heat map visualization presents the results of marine mammal detection algorithms, providing insight into migration behaviors, relationships with surrounding conditions such as temperature and chlorophyll, and cyclical patterns.