Development and Validation of a Mobile, Autonomous, Broadband Passive Acoustic Monitoring System for Marine Mammals

Our long-range objective is to understand the oceanographic processes that influence the distribution of whales in the ocean. In support of this objective we are developing a fully-integrated autonomous acoustic observing system capable of detecting and classifying a wide range of marine mammal vocalizations (from blue whales to beaked whales; 10 Hz–100 kHz) with proven performance. This work will ultimately improve our ability to predict whale distribution and bolster efforts to mitigate human impacts on marine mammals. High-endurance oceanographic sampling platforms such as gliders and profiling floats provide a new opportunity for acquiring acoustic signals from marine animals with immediate applications in conservation and mitigation.