This project involves analysis of whale calls from sixteen hydrophone arrays across the North Pacific. The time series data from many of these arrays remains classified, but the general location (as shown on the map below) and spectra averaged over 170 second time intervals have been declassified in conjunction with work conducted by the University of Washington, Applied Physics Laboratory. These 1-500 Hz spectra are taken about every five minutes from a single hydrophone at each site. More details on these data are available in: Curtis, Keith R., Howe, Bruce M., Mercer, James A., Low-frequency ambient sound in the North Pacific: Long time series observations, J. Acoust. Soc. Am., 106(6), pp. 3189-3200, December, 1999. Only some of the hydrophone sites are shown by the lettered locations on the map below. This work resulted in a publication, Burtenshaw, J. C., E. M. Oleson, J. A. Hildebrand, M. A. McDonald, R. K. Andrew, B. M. Howe, J. A. Mercer. Acoustic and Satellite Remote Sensing of Blue Whale Seasonality and Habitat in the Northeast Pacific. Deep Sea Research (Online. Opens pdf)
General location of 16 hydrophone arrays across the North Pacific.