Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Jefferys Basin, Fall/Winter 2025-2026
Study objectives
A Slocum G2 glider was deployed in the western Gulf of Maine to conduct a near real-time survey for baleen whales, including the seriously endangered North Atlantic right whale, in Jefferys and Wilkinson Basins.
Principal Investigator: Mark Baumgartner (WHOI)
Analysts: Jack Ewing, Nicole Velandia, Jessie Mathews, Phoebe Hodson, and Cathryn Wood (Maine Department of Marine Resources)
Funding: Maine Department of Marine Resources
Survey plan:
Platform location:
Analyst-reviewed species occurrence maps:
Daily analyst review:
| | Detected |
| Possibly detected |
| Not detected |
Time series:
The figure above shows daily whale occurrence for sei, fin, right
and humpback whales derived from analyst-reviewed call detections.
Occurrence is measured as the percentage of 15-minute summary periods
during a single day when whale calls are detected (red; periods when
the evidence for whale presence is convincing) or possibly detected
(yellow; periods when there is evidence for whale presence, but it is not
completely convincing). A summary period is a 15-minute period over which
an analyst determines if whales are detected, possibly detected or not
detected based on the protocol described in Baumgartner et al. (2019)
and Wilder et al. (2023). Please note that these time series should not
be considered an indication of whale abundance.
Diel plot:
The figure above shows when sei, fin, right and humpback whales were
detected (red), possibly detected (yellow), or not detected (gray) for
every 15-minute summary period reviewed by the analyst. The data are arranged
by hour of day (x axis) for each day of the deployment (y axis) to allow
evaluation of day-night (i.e., diel) patterns. The white lines indicate the
local time of sunrise and sunset.
Recent background noise:
Oceanographic observations:
Links to detailed information:
Automated detection data
Analyst notes
DMON/LFDCS diagnostics
Platform diagnostics
Sounds
What types of sounds are we monitoring? Find examples of the sounds right, fin, sei and humpback whales make here.
Questions
Please email Mark Baumgartner at mbaumgartner@whoi.edu. For a general desciption of the detection system and the autonomous platforms, visit robots4whales.whoi.edu.
Acknowledgements
The Slocum glider was expertly prepared and deployed by Mackenzie Meier with help from Diana Wickman (WHOI). Support for the glider mission was provided by the Maine Department of Marine Resources.
Home