All Oceans Marine Mammal Contacts Reporting System (AOMMCRS)

The U.S. Navy designed high-power active sonars like the Low Frequency Active (LFA) system to counter quiet submarines. High-power transmissions from mid- and low-frequency sonars are known to cause trauma for human divers. To comply with the MarineMammal Protection Act and the LFA Environmental Impact Statement (EIS), the U.S. Navy must effectively reduce active sonar transmissions to benign levels in peacetime operations. Further, full-time and near-real-time monitoring of marine mammal presenceand behavior in peacetime operating areas is vital. Difficulties in effectively monitoring marine mammal behavior are acknowledged. Yet technology developments sponsored by the DoD and US Navy (ONR) such as 1) overhead imaging (for detection andclassification of cetacean air blows), 2) high-power computing (for behavioral simulations and range-dependent signal excess predictions), and 3) sophisticated tactical trackers make prospects for an advanced knowledge management tool (tuned to theMMPA/EIS) plausible and affordable.ORINCON will compile, test, and demonstrate a prototype marine mammal contact reporting system with mission planning aids and regional monitoring tools. ORINCON's All Oceans Marine Mammal Contacts Reporting System will provide a knowledge management aid toeffectively collect, fuse, and distribute marine mammal contact reports for mitigation and exercise planning/monitoring. The All Oceans Marine Mammal Contacts Reporting System (AOMMCRS) offers wide-ranging capabilities to address the complex and dynamicchallenge for littoral co-existence between Navy active sonar platforms and marine mammals. Studying free-ranging marine mammals - from blue whales to small, elusive beaked whales - is difficult. For example, the proposal author encountered blue whales ononly 3 days in 21 days of a recent at-sea observation period. A priori knowledge of where marine mammals have recently been sighted will allow researchers to focus their efforts on studying and not searching for these animals. Pattern recognition, datafusion of temporally and spatially separated occurrences, and effective replication and distribution of time-critical contact data are technology enablers that extend beyond this specific application for AOMMCRS to: NOAA/NMFS - for marine mammal surveys;nongovernmental organizations - for observing compliance with environmental regulations; and recreational enterprises - for whale watching.