Passive acoustic beaked whale surveys using gliders off Southern California

A passive acoustic survey off Southern California is being conducted in summer–fall 2019 to estimate the distribution of beaked whale species. Two gliders are being flown to estimate the occurrence of Cuvier's, Blainville's, Stejneger's, Hubbs', and Baird's beaked whales in several regions: (1) near the Navy's Southern California Offshore Range (SCORE), in particular near fixed passive recorders there; (2) over the farther reaches of the continental shelf and shelf slope; and (3) over deep (>3000 m) waters offshore of the shelf slope up to 350 km from shore. The gliders collect passive acoustic data up to ca. 90 kHz, which should enable differentiation of these species of beaked whales in situations of reasonably high signal-to-noise ratios. Preliminary results of the glider flights and data analysis will be presented. [Funding from Navy NAVFAC.]