BOEM Sperm Whale Seismic Study (SWSS) MPS cetacean sightings 2002-2004

Bureau of Ocean Energy Management

Dataset credit

Texas A&M University
Oregon State University
Scripps Institution of Oceanography
Texas A&M University-Galveston
University of Colorado
University of Durham
University of Saint Andrews
University of South Florida
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution

Contacts

RoleNameOrganization 
Primary contact Deborah Epperson Bureau of Safety and Environmental Enforcement
Data entry Ei Fujioka Duke University

Citation

Abstract

Sperm Whale Seismic Study (SWSS) was a multi-institutional, interdisciplinary research project supported by the then Minerals Management Service (MMS; now Bureau of Ocean Energy Management - BOEM) under Cooperative Agreement 1435-01-02-CA-85186 for Cooperative Research on Sperm Whales and their Response to Seismic Exploration in the Gulf of Mexico through the Texas A&M Research Foundation.

The objectives of SWSS were to
(1) establish baseline information on the biology and behavior of sperm whales in the northern Gulf of Mexico,
(2) characterize sperm whale habitat use in the northern Gulf of Mexico, and
(3) determine possible changes in behavior of sperm whales when subjected to manmade noise, particularly from seismic airgun arrays used for offshore oil and gas exploration and geological monitoring.

Purpose

N/A

Supplemental information

This dataset contains cetacean sightings (other than sperm whales) observed in PHOTO-ID/Mesoscale Population Study Cruises 2004 and 2005.

Sperm whale visual tracking data are found in BOEM Sperm Whale Seismic Study (SWSS) MPS sperm whale trackings 2004-2005 which is also accompanied with effort data.

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)
indexIndex of rows in the original data table
gpsindexForeign key to GPS data
obs_datetimeDate and time (local time zone)
sighting_noSighting Number
other_timeOther format of time
sp_obsSpecies code recorded
sp_tsnITIS Taxonomic Serial Number assigned by OBIS-SEAMAP
cueCue
distanceDistance
bearingBearing (°)
headingHeading
ship_headingShip heading
seen_fromLocation of the observer
seen_byInitial of the observer
obs_countNumber of animals
adultsNumber of adults
juvenilesNumber of juvelines
calvesNumber of calves
birdsNumber of birds
behaviour1Behavior code 1
behaviour2Behavior code 2
behaviour3Behavior code 3
notesNotes
end_timeEnd time
latitudeLatitude in decimal degrees
longitudeLongitude in decimal degrees
gps_headingGPS heading
headingtypeHeading type
speedSpeed
speedtypeSpeed type
gpserrorGPS error
datastatusData status
geomGeometry field added by OBIS-SEAMAP
OBIS-SEAMAP ID911
Seabirds0
Marine mammals38
Sea turtles0
Rays and sharks0
Other species0
Non spatial0
Non species0
Total38
Date, Begin2004-06-22
Date, End2005-08-02
Temporal prec.111111
Latitude26.84 - 29.51
Longitude-92.99 - -85.58
Coord. prec.2 decimal digits
PlatformBoat
Data typeAnimal sighting
EffortN/A
Traveled (km)0
0
Contr. through
Registered2013-03-25
Updated2013-03-29
StatusPublished
Sharing policy CC-BY (All)
Shared with OBIS
GBIF (via DOI)
See metadata in static HTML
See metadata in FGDC XML
See download history / statistics