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Analysis of Passive Acoustic Data at Station ALOHA Cabled Observatory

POSTER

Abstract

The Station ALOHA Cabled Observatory (ACO) is located in the Central North Pacific Ocean and is an ocean-bottom observatory that monitors ocean processes, including sound, continuously in real-time. The ACO hydrophone records ocean acoustics over a broad scale. This allows for the study of certain elusive marine mammals like baleen whales, who tend to stay in deeper water. The ocean-bottom hydrophone at the ACO is used to record acoustic events such as glass balls shattering, ships passing by, and acoustic behavior of whales in a location that is difficult to study long-term due to its remoteness. We examined 12 months of 24kHz data from the ACO (January 2020- December 2020) and found a variety of sounds, some of which we identified as whale vocalizations. We created spectrograms of the audio files for visualization, analysis, and annotation. We identified sounds produced by minke, humpback, and sperm whales. We found seasonality in humpback and minke whale sounds as they gradually leave in May and return in October. This work is meant to provide an overview of sounds the ACO is recording, and the identified signals can be used as training for machine learning for the development of a sound identification program that would be able to run in real time on the hydrophone.

Authors

  • Yuliya Kornikova

    Reed College

  • James Potemra

    University of Hawai'i-Manoa

  • Kristin Rabosky

    Middle Tennessee State University, University of Alabama Tuscaloosa, Swarthmore College, CT Clinical Innovation Center, Department of Radiology, Mayo Clinic, Rochester, MN, Bard College, Wright State University, University of Michigan, University of Hawai'i-Manoa, Rice University, University of Alaska Fairbanks, University of Utah, South Dakota School of Mines and Technology, Furman University, University of Notre Dame, Theoretical Physics Division, Institute of High Energy Physics, the Chinese Academy of Sciences, Peng Huanwu Center for Fundamental Theory, University of Science and Technology China, University of Cambridge, University of Kansas, SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory, Planetary Science Institute, Iowa State University, College of Idaho, University of Washington, Bothell, Ottawa Hills High School, Case Western Reserve University, Yale University and Strasbourg Astronomical Observatory, Yale University, Korea Astronomy and Space Science Institute, NOIRLab, Purdue University, Korea Instotute for Advanced Study, Perimeter Institute, Rutgers University, University of Maryland, Juniata College, Columbia University, City University of New York / American Museum of Natural History, Columbia University / American Museum of Natural History, Morehead State University, Hofstra University, Occidental College, Georgia Institute of Technology, School of Physics and Astronomy, University of Minnesota, The Oskar Klein Centre, Department of Astronomy, University of Mississippi, Stanford/KIPAC/SLAC, University of Connecticut, Kansas State University, Vassar College, Penn State, Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Department of Physics, Worcester Polytechnic Institute, Clark University, University of Illinois at Urbana-Champaign, Rhodes College, Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, Harvard University, Cornell University, Air Force Research Lab, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio 45433, Air Force Research Lab, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio 45433 & UES, Inc., 4401 Dayton-Xenia Rd, Dayton, OH 45432, Department of Physics, University of Dayton, Dayton Ohio & Air Force Research Lab, Wright-Patterson AFB, Ohio 45433, Los Alamos National Laboratory, Utah State University, Ramapo College of NJ, Brookhaven National Laboratory, Research Center of Topological Functional Materials and Henan Key Laboratory of Photovoltaic Materials, Henan Univers., Brookhaven National Laboratory, Montclair State University, Weber State University