Abstract

Spatial Analysis of Underwater Biological Sounds Offshore Southern California
Track: Ocean, Coastal, and Marine Resources
Authors: Heidi Batchelor, Gerald D'Spain, Tyler Helble

Passively recorded underwater acoustic data, incorporated into a marine GIS, provides critical information for understanding ocean habitat characteristics and for describing the acoustic interactions between marine animals and their environment. Specialized listening arrays in concert with advanced signal and array processing techniques allow researchers and managers to determine the locations of specific sound sources as a function of time and recording position. Several examples of the spatial analyses of individual marine mammal calls and of underwater biological choruses from the Southern California Bight will be presented.