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Sperm Whale Seismic Study (SWSS)

Gyre Daily Reports - June 22, 2005

Our position at 21:45 local time is 26 11.348'N 95 20.316'W.

It is a beautiful night with a gorgeous moon out here in the Gulf of Mexico.

We left the sperm whales we had worked so successfully with on Tuesday to seek new areas with whales. We traveled southwestward and then south approximately along the 96W longitude line to 26 7.68'N. No whales were heard or, once visuals were on effort, seen on this transit.

We then turned east to survey into deep water. This took us across the region with anticyclonic circulation. XBT data showed the depth of the 15C isotherm was deepening from about 200 to 261 meters as we transited into the interior of the anticyclone. Currents were northward on this transect.

The 38 kHz fishery echo sounder was deployed (see photo) from about 16:45 to 19:15 local time to obtain acoustic backscatter data in the interior of the anticyclone. The RHIBs were deployed from late morning to late afternoon to extend the area of listening and observing, but no whales were heard or seen by any of the searching teams. This is not unexpected for a region of anticyclonic circulation. A group of 15-20 rough-toothed dolphins went bowriding for a time in the afternoon.

We are surveying eastward approximately along the 2000-meter isobath, and we have just had a faint detection of a sperm whale to try to find.

 

Alyson Azzara and Bill Green deploy the 38 kHz fishery echo sounder on 22 June 2005.
Alyson Azzara and Bill Green deploy the 38 kHz fishery echo sounder on 22 June 2005. The echo sounder is attached to a pole which is lowered into the water and locked in the vertical position when the instrument is deployed.

Last Updated: 01/21/2011, 07:07 AM Central Time