Marine Assessment, Decision, and Planning Tool for Protected Species (MADPT PS)

Analysis, Design & Diagnostics, Inc. has put together a unique team comprised of the Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution, Adaptive Methods, Inc. and Teledyne Benthos. Under this effort the team will develop a planning tool designed so that environmental and operational mission planners can generate sophisticated queries using modern GIS technologies and obtain the results in a user friendly format. The algorithms used for density estimates, distributions, etc. will be based on approved methods using sound scientific information. Also under this effort we will use the Teledyne Benthos modem to collect data on beaked whales (whales of the Family Ziphiidae) which will allow the U.S. Navy to refine its knowledge of beaked whale distributions in operational theaters of interest. We will also database, to the lowest phylum order, visual observations and acoustic detections of marine mammals collected by Navy warships while on patrol to expand the Navy’s knowledge of marine mammal distributions in operational theaters of interest which are outside the U.S. exclusive economic zone (EEZ). This expanded knowledge of marine mammals will support the scientific risk assessment of at-sea Navy operations.