Dear MARMAM,
On behalf of my co-authors, I would like to announce the publication of our article:
DeAngelis, A. I., Valtierra, R., Van Parijs, S. M., & Cholewiak, D.
2017. Using multipath reflections to obtain dive depths of beaked whales
from a towed hydrophone array. The Journal of the Acoustical Society of
America 142(2): 1078-1087 doi:10.1121/1.4998709.
Abstract
Beaked
whales are deep divers, emitting echolocation clicks while at depth.
Little is known about the dive behavior of most species; however,
passive acoustic data collected with towed hydrophone arrays can provide
depth information using multipath reflections of clicks coupled with a
two-dimensional localization of the individual. Data were collected
during a shipboard survey in the western North Atlantic Ocean using a
towed linear hydrophone array. Beaked whale tracks were classified as
either Cuvier’s (Ziphius cavirostris) or Gervais’/True’s (Mesoplodon
europaeus/Mesoplodon mirus). Weighted species average depths and
weighted species standard deviations were 1158 m + 287 m for Cuvier’s (n= 24), and 870 m +
151 m for Gervais’/True’s (n= 15). Depth uncertainties ranged from 3%
to 142% of the average depth. Slant ranges were corrected for depth to
provide average horizontal perpendicular distance estimates. The average
horizontal perpendicular distance distribution exhibited fewer
detections in the first bin than the second. This is the first report of
dive depths for Gervais’/True’s beaked whales and use of this method to
obtain depths for beaked whales using a towed linear array.
For the full article, please visit the publisher's website
http://asa.scitation.org/doi/full/10.1121/1.4998709.