WhaleWatch
WhaleWatch is a NASA-funded project to help reduce human impacts on whales by providing near real-time information on where they occur and hence where whales may be most at risk from threats, such as ship strikes, entanglements and loud underwater sounds. These model estimates were developed from habitat-based models of whale occurrence that combine satellite tracking of whales with information on the environment.
This month’s model estimates for Blue Whales (Balaenoptera musculus) off the U.S. West Coast:
Lower, Average, and Upper estimates represent the range of relative likelihood of blue whale presence from 0 (low) to 100 (high). Average density (# whales per 25km x 25km grid cell) is included on the far right.
Values are per 25 x 25 km (approximately 13 x 13 nmile). Red colors represent higher occurrence and blue lower values. It should be noted that these predictions are only estimates based on the models developed from historical data and do not represent actual recorded sightings or current densities. In this version, the model predictions are based on monthly products of the environmental data.
This research has been conducted by a multi-institutional team of academic groups and governmental organizations led by Helen Bailey (University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science) and in collaboration with the NOAA/NMFS West Coast Regional Office. The satellite telemetry data on whales were collected by Bruce Mate and colleagues (Oregon State University), geo-spatial distribution by Ladd Irvine (OSU), habitat modeling by Daniel Palacios (OSU), Elliott Hazen, Steven Bograd, Karin Forney (NOAA/NMFS Southwest Fisheries Science Center), and the web tool created by Evan Howell and Aimee Hoover (NOAA/NMFS Pacific Islands Fisheries Science Center).
Funding for this project was provided under the interagency NASA, USGS, National Park Service, US Fish and Wildlife Service, Smithsonian Institution Climate and Biological Response program, Grant Number NNX11AP71G. Funding for whale tagging was provided by the Office of Naval Research, the Marine Mammal Institute at OSU, and the Sloan, Packard and Moore Foundations to the Tagging of Pacific Predators Program.
For more information on WhaleWatch please contact Helen Bailey.
