NEFSC Right Whale Aerial Survey
NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC)
Dataset credit
Whale Ecology Branch, Northeast Fisheries Science Center, NOAA/NMFS
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Contacts
Role | Name | Organization | |
Primary contact |
Tim Cole |
NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center |
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Secondary contact |
Christin Khan |
NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center |
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Secondary contact |
Alison Ogilvie |
NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center |
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Data entry |
Ei Fujioka |
Duke University |
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Citation
Cole, T., C. Khan and A. Ogilvie. 2025. NEFSC Right Whale Aerial Survey. Data downloaded from OBIS-SEAMAP (https://seamap.env.duke.edu/dataset/513) on yyyy-mm-dd.
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Abstract
The North Atlantic Right Whale Sighting Survey (NARWSS) is a NOAA Fisheries program which locates and records the seasonal distribution of right whales off the northeastern United States.
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Purpose
not provided
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Supplemental information
Other references: Khan C, Cole TVN, Duley P, Glass AH, Niemeyer M, Christman C. 2009. North Atlantic Right Whale Sighting Survey (NARWSS) and Right Whale Sighting Advisory System (RWSAS) 2008 Results Summary. US Dept Commer, Northeast Fish Sci Cent Ref Doc. 09-05; 7 p.Niemeyer, M., T.V.N. Cole, C.L. Christman, P. Duley and A.H. Glass. 2008. North Atlantic Right Whale Sighting Survey (NARWSS) and Right Whale Sighting Advisory System (RWSAS) 2007 results summary. Northeast Fisheries Science Center Reference Document. 08-06; 6 p. Cole TVN, Gerrior P, Merrick RL. 2007. Methodologies of the NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service aerial survey program for right whales (Eubalaena glacialis) in the Northeast U.S., 1998-2006. US Dep Commer, Northeast Fish Sci Cent Ref Doc 07-02; 11 p.
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References
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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 |
oid | Unique ID number (generated by OBIS-SEAMAP) |
id | definition not provided |
source | NEFSC |
plane | Type of plane |
date_local | Date of the sighting in local time zone |
time_local | Time of the sighting in local time zone |
event_number | Event number |
flight_type | Survey type code. Code descriptions available upon request. |
latitude | Latitude in decimal degrees |
longitude | Longitude in decimal degrees |
legtype | Survey line type code. Code descriptions available upon request. |
legstage | Survey watch stage code. Code descriptions available upon request. |
psb_legstage | Survey watch stage code. Code descriptions available upon request. |
altitude | Altitude in feet |
heading | Platform heading (degrees) |
speed | Platform speed (knots) |
sst_c | Sea surface temperature in celsius |
beaufort | Beaufort sea state |
visibilty_code | Visibility code |
visibilty_nm | Visibility in nautical miles |
cloud_code | Cloud code |
cloud_percent | Cloud cover as a percentage. |
glare_l | Glare at the left side |
glare_r | Glare at the right side |
quality_l | Quality at the left side |
quality_r | Quality at the right side |
id_reliability | Reliability of species identification |
sighting_number | Sighting number |
spcode | Species code |
group_size | Group size |
calves | Thenumber of calves |
bearing | Bearing |
actual_heading | Actual heading in degrees |
distance | Distance |
relative_heading | Relative heading |
observer | Observer initials |
obs_position | Observer |
angle | Declination angle (0-90 degrees) of sighting available upon provider persmission |
cue | Sighting cue |
b1_final_code | definition not provided |
b2_final_code | definition not provided |
b3_final_code | definition not provided |
b4_final_code | definition not provided |
b5_final_code | definition not provided |
photos | Is a photo taken: yes=2 no=1 |
effort_comments | Comments on effort |
sighting_comments | Comments on sighting |
edit1 | Changes made by the 1st editor |
edit2 | Changes made by the 2nd editor |
edit3 | Changes made by the 3rd editor |
misc_edit1 | definition not provided |
misc_edit2 | definition not provided |
misc_edit3 | definition not provided |
misc_edit4 | Changes made by an editor |
rid | RID |
sp_tsn | ITIS taxonomic serial number. This field added by OBIS-SEAMAP |
geom | Geometry field added by OBIS-SEAMAP |
timezone_h | definition not provided |
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OBIS-SEAMAP ID | 513 |
Seabirds | 0 |
Marine mammals | 41,177 |
Sea turtles | 272 |
Rays and sharks | 5,211 |
Other species | 3,626 |
Non spatial | 1 |
Non species | 55,430 |
Total | 105,717 |
Date, Begin | 1998-05-14 |
Date, End | 2024-12-19 |
Temporal prec. | 111111 |
Latitude | 35.59 - 50.15 |
Longitude | -76.04 - -58.09 |
Coord. prec. | 5 decimal digits |
Platform | Plane |
Data type | Animal sighting |
Effort | YES (ID: 514) |
Traveled (km) | 1,196,332 |
Effort hours | 6,887 |
Registered | 2010-10-26 |
Updated | 2025-03-25 |
Status | Published |
Sharing policy |
CC0 no rights reserved |
Shared with |
GBIF
OBIS |
See metadata in static HTML |
See metadata in FGDC XML |
See download history / statistics |
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