The Arctic Ice Monitoring (AIM) observatory has been maintained on the Chukchi Plateau at 75.1° N 168.0° W nearly continuously since 2003. The AIM site consists of a submerged mooring that, since October 2008, has been instrumented with a passive acoustic recorder to sample ambient sound, with a focus on marine mammal detections in the High Arctic. Year-long data sets for 2009, 2012, and 2014–2020 were analyzed for the presence of signals from Arctic species including bowhead and beluga whales, bearded seals, and walrus. Calls from subarctic ribbon seals were commonly detected in autumn months, suggesting they have expanded their distribution much further northward. Killer whale calls were detected in recent years providing evidence that they have moved further north into the Pacific Arctic. No other subarctic cetaceans were heard. Year-round passive acoustic sampling of sounds produced by marine mammals over a decadal timescale has enhanced our understanding of how climate-driven changes in biodiversity are affecting even the very High Arctic.
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April 2022
April 12 2022
Marine mammal detections on the Chukchi Plateau 2009–2020a)
Special Collection:
Ocean Acoustics in the Changing Arctic
Kathleen M. Stafford
;
Kathleen M. Stafford
b)
1
Applied Physics Laboratory, University of Washington
, Seattle, Washington 98105, USA
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Humfrey Melling
;
Humfrey Melling
2
Department of Fisheries and Oceans, Institute of Ocean Sciences
, Victoria, British Columbia V8L 4B2, Canada
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Sue E. Moore
;
Sue E. Moore
3
Center for Ecosystem Sentinels, Department of Biology, University of Washington
, Seattle, Washington 98105, USA
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Catherine L. Berchok;
Catherine L. Berchok
4
Marine Mammal Laboratory, National Marine Fisheries Service
, Seattle, Washington 98115, USA
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Eric K. Braen;
Eric K. Braen
5
Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean & Ecosystem Studies, University of Washington
, Seattle, Washington 98105, USA
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Arial M. Brewer;
Arial M. Brewer
5
Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean & Ecosystem Studies, University of Washington
, Seattle, Washington 98105, USA
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Brynn M. Kimber
Brynn M. Kimber
5
Cooperative Institute for Climate, Ocean & Ecosystem Studies, University of Washington
, Seattle, Washington 98105, USA
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b)
Current address: Marine Mammal Institute, Oregon State University, Newport, OR 97365, USA. Electronic mail: [email protected]
a)
This paper is part of a special issue on Ocean Acoustics in the Changing Arctic.
J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 151, 2521–2529 (2022)
Article history
Received:
September 20 2021
Accepted:
March 28 2022
Citation
Kathleen M. Stafford, Humfrey Melling, Sue E. Moore, Catherine L. Berchok, Eric K. Braen, Arial M. Brewer, Brynn M. Kimber; Marine mammal detections on the Chukchi Plateau 2009–2020. J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 1 April 2022; 151 (4): 2521–2529. https://doi.org/10.1121/10.0010208
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