Full Record - Whales from Space Database - British Antarctic Survey

Whales from Space Database

GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/01482

Abstract:
Monitoring whales in remote regions is important for their conservation, using traditional survey platforms (boat and plane) is logistically difficult. The use of very high-resolution satellite imagery to survey whales, particularly in remote regions, is gaining interest and momentum. However, development is hindered by the lack of automated systems to detect whales. Such a system requires an open source library containing examples of whales and confounding features in satellite imagery. Here we present such a database, created by surveying 6,300 km2 of satellite imagery in various regions across the globe, which allowed us to detect 633 whale objects and 120 confounding features.

Funding was provided from a BAS Innovation Voucher.

Citation:
Cubaynes, H., & Fretwell, P. (2021). Whales from Space Database (Version 1.0) [Data set]. NERC EDS UK Polar Data Centre. https://doi.org/10.5285/c1afe32c-493c-4dc7-af9f-649593b97b2c

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License

Access:	None.
Use:	Data released under Open Government Licence V3.0: http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence/version/3/. Imagery courtesy of Maxar Technologies.

Authors

Name	UK PDC
Role(s)	Metadata Author
Organisation	British Antarctic Survey

Name	Dr Hannah C Cubaynes
Role(s)	Investigator
Organisation	Scott Polar Research Institute

Name	Mr Peter T Fretwell
Role(s)	Investigator
Organisation	British Antarctic Survey

Basic Information

Creation Date:	2021-04-08
Dataset Progress:	Complete
Dataset Language:	English
ISO Topic Categories:	Biota Environment Oceans
Parameters:	Oceans > Marine Biology > Marine Mammals Oceans > Marine Environment Monitoring

Additional Information

Reference:	Cubaynes, H.C., Fretwell, P.T. Whales from space dataset, an annotated satellite image dataset of whales for training machine learning models. Sci Data 9, 245 (2022). https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01377-4. Cubaynes, H.C., Fretwell P.T., Bamford C., Gerrish L. and Jackson J.A. (2019) Whales from space: Four mysticete species described using new VHR satellite imagery. Marine Mammal Science, Volume 35, Issue 2 p. 466-491. https://doi.org/10.1111/mms.12544.
Quality:	Used Cubaynes et al. 2019 to assign a confidence level to the whale-objects detected and listed in the database.
Lineage/Methodology:	The satellite images were acquired by very high-resolution satellites (WorldView-3, WorldView-2, GeoEye-1, Quickbird-2), using the following criteria: less than 20% cloud cover, calm sea state (i.e. no white caps and low swell), and where it was known that only one species would be present at the time of image acquisition. Whales were annotated using Cubaynes et al. criteria and method, and were assigned a confidence level (Definite, Probable, or Possible). For further details see https://doi.org/10.1038/s41597-022-01377-4. For further details of TEMPORAL and SPATIAL COVERAGE see the file 'WhaleFromSpace_Coverage.csv' in the GET DATA link of this record.

Extent

Temporal Coverage:
Start Date	2006-08-12
End Date	2017-02-20

Spatial Coverage:
Latitude
Southernmost	-34.39369
Northernmost	-34.36829
Longitude
Westernmost	20.8729
Easternmost	20.99481
Altitude
Min Altitude	N/A
Max Altitude	N/A
Depth
Min Depth	N/A
Max Depth	N/A

Latitude
Southernmost	-42.79061
Northernmost	-42.50312
Longitude
Westernmost	-64.82287
Easternmost	-64.29815
Altitude
Min Altitude	N/A
Max Altitude	N/A
Depth
Min Depth	N/A
Max Depth	N/A

Latitude
Southernmost	-50.5598
Northernmost	-50.50175
Longitude
Westernmost	166.18452
Easternmost	166.33857
Altitude
Min Altitude	N/A
Max Altitude	N/A
Depth
Min Depth	N/A
Max Depth	N/A

Latitude
Southernmost	20.77811
Northernmost	21.03344
Longitude
Westernmost	-156.8605
Easternmost	-156.713
Altitude
Min Altitude	N/A
Max Altitude	N/A
Depth
Min Depth	N/A
Max Depth	N/A

Latitude
Southernmost	42.71181
Northernmost	43.18309
Longitude
Westernmost	7.10727
Easternmost	7.68952
Altitude
Min Altitude	N/A
Max Altitude	N/A
Depth
Min Depth	N/A
Max Depth	N/A

Latitude
Southernmost	26.75272
Northernmost	26.87306
Longitude
Westernmost	-113.1583
Easternmost	-113.264
Altitude
Min Altitude	N/A
Max Altitude	N/A
Depth
Min Depth	N/A
Max Depth	N/A

Location:
Location	New Zealand
Detailed Location	Auckland Islands
Location	Mexico
Detailed Location	Laguna San Ignacio
Location	United States Of America
Detailed Location	Maui Nui
Location	Mediterranean Sea
Detailed Location	Ligurian Sea, Pelagos Sanctuary
Location	Argentina
Detailed Location	Peninsula Valdes
Location	South Africa
Detailed Location	Witsand

Discovery Metadata System

Whales from Space Database

GB/NERC/BAS/PDC/01482

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