RV Investigator IN2021_V01: 460 Hours of Antarctic Sonobuoy Recordings

251 sonobuoy deployments during the RV Investigator voyage IN2021_V01 collected approximately 460 hours of underwater acoustic recordings. The data, contributed by the Australian Ocean Data Network, were gathered between 29 January and 24 March 2021 on a voyage from Hobart to Hobart. Recordings focus on ocean noise and marine mammal vocalizations, with blue whales and sperm whales particularly well-detected.

Use Cases

• Detect and classify blue whale and sperm whale calls based on acoustic recordings.
• Map marine mammal presence and distribution to complement visual survey data.
• Analyze ocean ambient noise levels in the Southern Ocean.
• Study predator-prey relationships by correlating acoustic detections with krill coordinate data.

Strengths

• Approximately 460 hours of audio recordings provide substantial temporal coverage.
• 251 sonobuoy deployments offer a wide spatial sampling interval.
• Specific sonobuoy models and deployment dates are documented.

Limitations

• Column-level documentation is absent; field semantics must be inferred after download.
• Row count is unknown, which may limit suitability assessment.
• Data may reflect geographic and temporal bias inherent to the single voyage.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Deployment of Directional Frequency Analysis and Recording (DIFAR) sonobuoys at 30 nmi intervals.

Time Range

29 January to 24 March 2021 (AEST)

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-27 19:29:43.356394; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Southern Ocean, off the Australian Antarctic Territory, voyage from Hobart (TAS) to Hobart.