BOEM Sperm Whale Seismic Study (SWSS) MPS sperm whale trackings 2004-2005

Original provider: Bureau of Ocean Energy Management Dataset credits: 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 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. Supplemental information: [2016-08-15] Two rows had inaccurate date/time values (1899-12-30 12:44:00 and 1899-12-30 12:46:00). These were corrected with 7/27/2004 17:44:36 and 7/27/2004 17:50:46. [2015-03-24] 22 records had the number of animals of zero. All but the one at 2005-06-26 23:04:18 is replaced with a blank, representing species presence only. The one at 2005-06-26 23:04:18 is removed as the notes for this record mentioned as such. This dataset includes visual tracking data of sperm whales conducted in PHOTO-ID/Mesoscale Population Study Cruises 2004 and 2005. Sightings of other cetaceans are found in BOEM Sperm Whale Seismic Study (SWSS) MPS cetacean sightings 2004-2005 Since the vessels often tracked the sighted sperm whales for further surveys, many sightings in this dataset represent the same animals.