RV Investigator TEMPO Voyage: 460 Hours of Antarctic Sonobuoy Recordings

251 sonobuoys deployed during the RV Investigator voyage IN2021_V01 collected approximately 460 hours of underwater acoustic recordings. The data includes marine mammal vocalizations and was collected as part of the TEMPO survey off the Australian Antarctic Territory between 29 January and 24 March 2021. Recordings were made by the Australian Ocean Data Network using DIFAR sonobuoy models.

Use Cases

• Detect and classify blue whale and sperm whale vocalizations based on acoustic recordings.
• Study marine mammal presence and distribution patterns based on passive acoustic monitoring data.
• Analyze ocean noise levels and ambient soundscapes based on continuous sonobuoy recordings.
• Correlate krill abundance estimates with predator vocalization activity based on the survey's complementary data goals.

Strengths

• Approximately 460 hours of acoustic recordings provide a substantial temporal sample.
• Data collection targeted multiple whale species and seals, suggesting taxonomic breadth.
• The voyage spanned a defined period from 29 January to 24 March 2021, providing temporal context.

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/temporal bias inherent to the specific voyage track.

Provenance

Source

Australian Ocean Data Network

Collection Method

Recordings collected using Directional Frequency Analysis and Recording (DIFAR) sonobuoys deployed from the RV Investigator.

Time Range

29 January to 24 March 2021

Freshness

Last updated 2026-06-23 03:51:47.618607; freshness should be verified.

Geography

Survey area off the Australian Antarctic Territory, voyage from Hobart (TAS) to Hobart.