SX90 sonar data in the Beaufort Sea: 2014

Environmental changes and the recent interest in offshore hydrocarbon resources have heightened the need for data and an understanding of aquatic ecosystem components in the Beaufort Sea/Mackenzie Shelf/Amundsen Gulf region. Here, the use of a fisheries sonar to detect and identify fish and marine mammals is investigated. In addition to the larger coverage relative to that of an echosounder, fisheries sonars allow detection of targets up to 1 m below the ocean surface and at distances of up to 2 km from the vessel, thereby reducing biases related to vessel. The fish component of this study aims at detecting Arctic cod aggregations near the surface using the SX90 sonar, and to document their distribution, size and migration patterns. The marine mammal component aims at assessing the effectiveness of the SX90 sonar to detect marine mammals at a distance from the vessel, and to establish acoustic recognition criteria.气候变化与近期近海油气资源开发的相关需求，加剧了对波弗特海、麦肯齐大陆架及阿蒙森湾区域水生生态系统组分相关数据的获取需求，同时也强化了对该区域生态系统组分的深入研究必要性。本研究针对渔业声呐（fisheries sonar）在鱼类与海洋哺乳动物的探测及识别中的应用展开了探索。相较于回声测深仪（echosounder），渔业声呐不仅具备更广的探测覆盖范围，还可探测距海面1米以内、距作业船只最远2公里范围内的目标，由此可降低与作业船只相关的探测偏差。本研究的鱼类探测模块旨在利用SX90声呐探测近海面的北极鳕鱼（Arctic cod）鱼群，并记录其分布特征、种群规模与洄游模式；海洋哺乳动物探测模块则旨在评估SX90声呐对距作业船只一定距离外的海洋哺乳动物的探测效能，并建立相关声学识别标准。