Visual sightings from Song of the Whale 1993-2013

Oliver Boisseau, Marine Conservation Research International

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The databases from 1993 to 2013 were merged into one dataset. Attributes recorded in these databases may differ.
Since GPS data would become too huge to effectively visualize online, every 10th record was extracted. All GPS data can be requested.
Environmental attributes were recorded less frequently than the GPS data and not all GPS records get environmental attributes attached.

The dataset has been updated over time as outlined below. Each entry includes the version number, release date, type of change, and a short description.

Overview

Attributes described below represent those in the original dataset provided by the provider.
Only minimum required attributes are visible and downloadable online. Other attributes may be obtained upon provider's permission.

Attributes in dataset

Attribute (table column)	Description
oid	Unique ID number (generated by OBIS-SEAMAP)
year	Year of the surveys
region	Region surveyed
project	Project name
key	Numeric key
index	Numeric index number
gpsindex	GPS index
gpstime	GPS time in UTC
sightingno	Sighting Number
datetime_utc	Date and time of observation in UTC
obs_datetime	Date and time of observation (local time)
platform	Platform
distance	Distance to the animals sighted
reticle	Reticle in degrees
angle	Angle in degrees
bearing	Bearing angle in degrees
anglesource	Angle source
species_code	Species code
species2	species code for another group sighted
species3	species code for the third group sighted
sp_obs	Species name recorded
sp_tsn	ITIS Taxonomic Serial Number added by OBIS-SEAMAP
confidence	Confidence
cue	Initial cue for the sighting
minno	Minumum number of animals
maxno	Maximum number of animals
obs_count	best estimate of number of animals
adults	Number of adults
juveniles	Number of juveniles (taken from sightings)
calves	Number of calves
birds	Existence of birds (Y/N)
seenfrom	Seen from
seenby	Seen by (observer
sightingeffort	definition not provided
heading	Heading in degrees
behaviour1	Behaviour 1
behaviour2	Behaviour 2
behaviour3	Behaviour 3
phototaken	Photo taken
horizon_land	definition not provided
relbearing	Real bearing
reldistance	Real distance
notes	Notes
buttonref	definition not provided
latitude	Latitude in decimal degrees
longitude	Longitude in decimal degrees
seastate	Sea state
waveheight	Wave height
swell	Swell
weather	Weather code
cloudcover	Cloud cover
visibility	Visibility
pressure	Pressure
intensity	Intensity
glare_start	Glare start
glare_stop	Glare stop
sail_start	Start time of the sail
sail_stop	End time of the sail
environment_notes	Notes on environment
windspeed	Wind speed
winddirection	Wind direction
temperature	Water temperature
windside	Wind side
geom	Geometry field added by OBIS-SEAMAP