NWTRC JP04 Aerial Surveys 2014-2015

HDR Environmental, Operations and Construction, Inc.

Dataset credit

The U.S. Navy Marine Species Monitoring Program

Contacts

RoleNameOrganization 
Primary contact Kristen Ampela HDR Environmental, Operations and Construction, Inc.
Secondary contact Grant Miller-Francisco HDR Environmental, Operations and Construction, Inc.
Data entry Ei Fujioka Duke University

Citation

Abstract

Features in this feature class represent animal sightings that occurred during four aerial surveys for marine mammals performed in July 2014, September 2014, January 2015 and April 2015 in the Puget Sound, WA. Surveys followed line-transect protocol and were designed to collect data for estimation of abundance and density of marine mammals. Survey dates were 21 to 27 July 2014, 14 to 21 September 2014, 5 to 12 January 2015 and 15 to 22 April 2015. Work was performed under HDR task order JP04 (IDIQ contract award N62470-10-D-3011, NAVFAC LANT).

Purpose

N/A

Supplemental information

A full version of downloadable data (ESRI personal geodatabase) including all attributes submitted is available upon request.

References

Attributes

Overview

This section explains attributes included in the original dataset. OBIS-SEAMAP restricts the attributes available to the public to date/time, lat/lon and species names/counts only. Should you need other attributes described here, you are encouraged to contact the data provider.

Attributes described below represent those in the original dataset provided by the provider.
All attributes are included in the downloadable file (CSV or ESRI File Geodatabase) for "Complete Set of Dataset".

Attributes in dataset

Attribute (table column)Description
oidUnique ID number (generated by OBIS-SEAMAP)
altitudemThe altitude of the observation platform (plane, vessel bridge, etc) above sea level in meters
areakm2The area in km2 over which the survey took place
aspectslopeBathymetric slope aspect at location of animal
animalspeedA calculation based on multiple resights, calculating the distance travelled by the time elapsed between sighting events
bearingRelative bearing from the platform to the sighting, where the front of the platform is zero degrees. Formats include clock face, degrees, etc.
bearingabsTrue (not magnetic) bearing to sighting. Calculated from relative bearing and platform bearing.
behaviorInitial behavioral state of the animal or group when first observed. Examples: Travel, Mill, Rest
behavioreventDiscrete behavioral event(s) observed during the sighting. Examples: Breach, Tail Slap, Blow
beaufortscaleBeaufort sea state (0-12)
beaufortscalebellyBeaufort sea state from the belly window of the aircraft (0-12)
beaufortscaleleftBeaufort sea state on the left (port) side of the platform (0-12)
beaufortscalerightBeaufort sea state on the right (starboard) side of the platform (0-12)
biopsyWas a biopsy attempted for the sighting?
birdsAre birds present?
calvespresentAre calves present? Use notes field to indicate number of calves present.
countcalvesThe number of calves in the sighting
countfemalesThe number of positively identified females in the sighting
countjuvenilesThe number of positively identified juveniles in the sightings
countmalesThe number of positively identified males in the sighting
countnewbornsThe number of positively identified newborns/pups in the sighting
counttotbestThe best estimate of the number of animals in the sighting
counttotmaxThe highest estimate of the number of animals in the sighting
counttotminThe lowest estimate of the number of animals in the sighting
countvescargoThe number of cargo ships present in the area
countvesferriesThe number of ferries present in the area
countvesfishingThe number of fishing boats present in the area
countvesmilitaryThe number of military vessels present in the area
countvesmotoryachtsThe number of motor yachts present in the area
countvessailingThe number of sailboats present in the area
countvesotherThe number of vessels in the area that do not fall into the above categories
cueThe sighting cue that initially drew the observers attention
datetimeDate and Time together in one cell value (LOCAL TIME)
datetimeutcDate and Time together in one cell value (UTC)
depthThe depth of the water at sighting location, based on known bathymetry
depthsoundingDepth as determined in situ via sounding
dispmaxThe maximum distance between nearest neighbors within a group (in body lengths)
dispminThe minimum distance between nearest neighbors within a group (in body lengths)
distsightThe radial distance to the animal
distsightperpThe perpendicular distance to the animal from the trackline
effortstatusThe effort status of the platform. Options: On-effort (systematic), on-effort (focal follow), on-effort (circling), on-effort (random), off-effort (connector lines), off-effort (transiting), off-effort (other)
flightofdayThe sequential daily flight identifier (e.g., 1, 2, 3, etc.)
glarebellyThe amount of glare (0-100%) from the belly of the platform. Refers to glare from 270-360 degrees, or viewshed for which observer is reponsible.
glareleftThe amount of glare (0-100%) on the left (port) side of the platform. Refers to glare from 0 to 90 degrees, or viewshed for which observer is reponsible.
glarerightThe amount of glare (0-100%) on the right (starboard) side of the platform. Refers to glare from 270-360 degrees, or viewshed for which observer is reponsible.
groupidIdentifier for a particular group within a sighting
headinganimalHeading of the animal at the time of the initial sighting (in degrees magnetic)
headingplatmagneticHeading of the observation platform relative to magnetic North
headingplattrueHeading of the observation platform relative to true North
horizsunHorizontal glare calculation on NOAA large vessel surveys
latanimalThe calculated latitude of the animal at the initial time of the sighting
latplatformThe latitude of the platform in decimal degrees
legidLetter or number for survey leg/transect
legnotesNotes as entered for that particular leg of the survey
legnumberA unique identifier for the leg associated with the survey
linearityA metric describing animal travel, calculated by dividing the distance between the first and last recorded sighting waypoints by the sum total of all distances between waypoints. Values range between 0 and 1, with a number closer to 1 representing a straight line and close to 0 representing no constant direction of the animal.?
longanimalThe calculated longitude of the animal at the initial time of the sighting
longplatformThe longitude of the platform in decimal degrees
mitigationWas mitigation implemented?
mitigationtypeType of mitigation implemented
navydirectedlegMarker identifying whether the platform was directed by the Navy to go to a certain location, fly at a certain altitude, or leave the immediate area
observerThe name of the observer who first sighted the animal
observeraftName of the observer in the aft position
observerbellyName of the observer in the center position or belly window of the aircraft
observerforwardName of the observer in the forward position
observerleftName of the observer on the left (port) side of the platform
observerrightName of the observer on the right (starboard) side of the platform
observerrearleftName of the observer in the rear left seat of the aircraft
observerrearrightName of the observer in the rear right seat of the aircraft
oceanThe ocean where the survey took place (Pacific, Atlantic, Indian, etc.)
opticstypeIndicates the type of optic used to fix a particular sighting (e.g., bigeyes, handheld binos, theodolite, naked eye). Useful when a platform uses several methods to sight animals
ordnanceWas live ordnance in use at the time of the sighting?
percentcloudcoverCloud cover as represented by a percentage
percentcloudcoverleftCloud cover on the left (port) side of the platform as represented by a percentage
percentcloudcoverrightCloud cover on the right (starboard) side of the platform as represented by a percentage
photoframesThe photo frames used for the sighting; or total frames taken
photographerName of the photographer
photosWere photos taken as part of the sighting?
picPilot in command
platformdedIndicates if the survey was a dedicated marine mammal survey, or if data was gathered opportunistically from a platform on a different mission
platformmodelModel of a/c or vessel (e.g. Partenavia Observer, RHIB, etc.)
platformspeedSpeed of the platform at the time of the sighting
platformtypeType of survey platform (e.g., "aerial", "vessel")
rangecomplexThe Range complex (or complexes) associated with the survey (JAX, SOCAL, Cherry Point, etc.)
reactioninitThe type of reaction at the initial time of the sighting relative to the observation platform
reactioninitcountThe general count of animals that initially reacted to the observation platform. May be a number or text (i.e., "whole group")
reactionlaterIdentifies whether a reaction occurred as a response to the survey platform after the initial sighting of the group/individual
reactionlatercountThe number of animals that reacted to the observation platform after the sighting occurred
recorderName of the person recording data
recorderfocalName of the person recording focal follow data
reorientationrateA magnitude of course changes along the trackline, calculated by summing all course changes (degrees) along the trackline divided by duration (minutes) of the trackline (Smultea and Wursig, 1995).
resolutionBathymetric resolution in arc degrees at sighting position
shoredistDistance to nearest shore
sicSecond (pilot) in command
sightingdetectionsensorSighting detection method (e.g. MMO, lookout, bridge, acoustic)
sightingendloeWas Sighting 1. lost, or 2. Passed Beam (Lookout Effectiveness surveys only)
sightingmethodRadial distance method with which sighting was recorded (reticle, inclinometer, theodolite, etc.). Blank = "naked eye" (OBS)
sightingmultiDenotes if there are any additional species within a particular sighting (mixed group)
sightingnotesNotes field to capture information not covered by existing attributes or other information of interest
sightingnumberThe sighting number for the particular survey day
sightingrelmovementRelative movement of vessel and animal?s bearing (e.g. closing, opening, parallel, )
sightingtimeendThe time at which the sighting was discontinued
sightingtrialloeWhether sighting was successful Lookout Effectiveness Trial
slopeBathymetric slope at sighting location (angle)
sonarWas sonar active at the time of the sighting?
spcscodeSpecies code used in authentic data (e.g., TTUR=Tursiops truncatus)
spcsconfidenceConfidence level of the observer that he or she identified species correctly
spcshauledoutIndicates if a pinniped is hauled out
spcsitisITIS numeric species code
spcsnmcomCommon name of the sighted species. Output should be singular (e.g. bottlenose dolphin)
spcsnmsciScientific name of the sighted species
sp_tsnTaxonomic Serial Number added by OBIS-SEAMAP
surveyidA survey identifier consisting of data collector, range complex, platform, year, month, and day. (Data Collector/Source)_(Range Complex)_(Platform Type or Details)_(Year)(Month)(Day) (eg. SES_SOCAL_Aerial_20120417)
surveymodeSurvey mode
surveyobjectiveSurvey objective
surveypointA waypoint taken along a trackline OR a start/end point for a trackline
surveytypeWhat type of survey was being followed at the time of the sighting (e.g. line transect, focal follow, etc)
swellSwell height
swelldirectionDirection of swell
taggingWas a tag deployment attempted for the sighting?
theoconvhorzHorizontal angle value from theodolite converted to a compass bearing
theoconvvertVertical angle value from theodolite converted to a declination angle
theorawhorzRaw horizontal angular value from theodolite
theorawvertRaw vertical angular value from theodolite
vertangleorreticleReticle or declination angle
vertsunVertical glare calculation on NOAA large vessel surveys
vesselsize0-99 ft = small, 100-300 ft = medium, >301 ft = large
vesseltypeType of vessel observed (e.g. frigate, sailboat, submarine)
videoWas video taken during the sighting?
videographerName of the videographer
visibilityThe estimated distance at which an animal could potentially be sighted
visibilityleftSighting visibility in KM on the left (port) side of the platform
visibilityrightSighting visibility in KM on the right (starboard) side of the platform
waveheightWave height
winddirectionWind direction relative to true north
windspeedWind speed
geomGeometry field added by OBIS-SEAMAP
OBIS-SEAMAP ID1398
Seabirds0
Marine mammals4,235
Sea turtles0
Rays and sharks0
Other species0
Non spatial0
Non species0
Total4,235
Date, Begin2014-07-21
Date, End2015-04-22
Temporal prec.111111
Latitude47.08 - 48.44
Longitude-124.62 - -122.21
Coord. prec.6 decimal digits
PlatformPlane
Data typeAnimal sighting
EffortYES (ID: 1399)
Traveled (km)22,342
Effort hours6,605
Contr. throughNavy
Registered2016-08-03
Updated2017-06-27
StatusPublished
Sharing policy CC-BY (All)
Shared with OBIS
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