Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution and University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science
Ocean City, Maryland Buoy
Study objectives
A DMON buoy was deployed 22 miles east of Ocean City, Maryland on October 22, 2024 to monitor the presence of baleen whales in near real time by automatically detecting and identifying their calls. The buoy will help to improve monitoring and conservation efforts for whales by providing industry, scientists, managers, and the public with near real-time information on whale presence.
Principal Investigators: Helen Bailey and David Secor (University of Maryland Center for Environmental Science) and Mark Baumgartner (Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution)
Analyst: Kirsten Silva, Rebecca Wingate, Caroline Tribble and Helen Bailey
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 dcs.whoi.edu.
Acknowledgements
The DMON buoy was prepared and deployed by the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution's Mooring Operations and Engineering (MOE) Group - special thanks to Jeff Pietro (lead technician), Kris Newhall, Don Peters, and John Kemp. Critical engineering support was provided by Jim Partan, Keenan Ball, Dennis Giaya, Kayleah Griffen, Leo-Paul Pelletier and Tom Hurst (WHOI). Support for the deployment and operation of the buoy was provided by the Maryland Department of Natural Resources through the Maryland Energy Administration's Offshore Wind Development Fund and by US Wind Inc. This website and detection data was prepared by WHOI and UMCES using Federal funds under award number NA23NOS4190254 from NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce. The statements, findings, conclusions, and recommendations are those of the author(s) and do not necessarily reflect the views of NOAA or the U.S. Department of Commerce.
