Humpback Whale Project Successes earned and learned - Hawaii & Alaska As with any serious scientific or technical project, the problems you face aren't always those you expect, and the solutions you anticipate do not always work.  John with buoys at Angoon, Alaska workshop A few of the problems we have encountered (and solved) so far: --- Our very first sonobuoy (which was shaped like a box rather than our current cylinder shape) didn't float well with all of the equipment it had, and had to be re-engineered. --- The commercial glue we initially used for underwater applications changed its formula at some point, and suddenly we could no longer depend on it holding out in the water. We had to find a different glue which was equally effective. --- The hydrophone is attached to the rigging which connects the anchor and the sonobuoy. It is an extremely sensitive microphone, and was picking up far more noise from contact with the rigging than it was whale sounds. We engineered a "standoff" to keep the hydrophone sufficiently separated from the rigging that it wouldn't pick up extraneous noise. --- One of our pre-packaged electronics components was designed such that it would only function properly in a relatively temperate environment. Hence it worked perfectly during the testing in our California laboratory, but failed immediately even in the summer weather of Alaska. The solution was a simple (hair-thin) wire to ground a voltage regulator component, but until we discovered the solution we could not move forward with our mission. --- Finding the right spot to drop an anchor which will remain for several months at a time was a greater challenge than we expected, because of the constantly changing contour of the ocean floor, severe drops off of continental shelves, and the need to avoid sensitive areas such as coral reefs.  Kelp entangled buoy off of Angoon, Alaska --- The bay we chose in Alaska (Favorite Bay, off the coast of Admiralty Island) has severe currents because it acts like the small end of a funnel as the tides from the Pacific Ocean rise and fall and push water through Favorite Bay in and out of the much larger Mitchell Bay to the east. Even with our new hydrodynamic wing design on the buoy the current would be so strong that the entire buoy would be pulled at a severe angle and become submerged, or in some cases pulled right off of its anchor. (See the description of swages below) --- The radio repeater system we installed in Alaska enabled us to expand our range of listening from about 1 mile to about 10 miles. However, as the system was located on a water tower with no electrical power source, we installed solar panels for our energy needs. The reality though, was that the sun was generally scarce. The battery system was with the radio was set up to shut down before it got too low, and our entire broadcast system was out of commission several times over the summer because of energy issues. We have until next summer to meet this challenge. --- The piece of hardware which connects the anchorline to the anchor is called a swage. (Pronounced swedge) Unbeknownst to us upon installation of the anchors in Alaska, the swage was made of a different metal than the anchorline, and not only did the swage corrode quickly, but it also actively corroded the metal around it. The result of this corrosion was several renegade buoys breaking free and being recovered several miles from their anchor before we discovered the problem, and found the proper replacements. --- Finally, there were the elusive whales in Alaska. As we said, the whales are feeding in Alaska and don’t sing all the time, but instead make random feeding and hunting calls and noises. One reason we deployed several buoys 10 miles apart each was to try and pick up as many of these calls as possible. However, among the difficulties was placing the buoys in a place where the whales liked to go, where the water wasn’t too noisy (from the currents), and where the current wasn’t so strong that it pulled the buoy underwater. Our original plan was to have 4 buoys deployed and spread throughout the bay, but in the end we wound up with 1 buoy, as this last buoy location was the one which met the criteria listed above with the most success. Milestones and Goals Of course some of our most significant progress has came from these challenges, and all of it requires the talent and energy of our hard-working, dedicated crew.  Buoy controller board with radio transceiver Among our achievements so far: --- The 5th generation electronics module (known as JEM5) on the sonobuoy now in use (Read more about our developing system on our equipment page) --- The repeater systems in Alaska, and now also in Hawaii. --- The live webcam in Hawaii --- The tracking system used to successful recover lost buoys --- The remote administration system for controlling the buoy equipment via the web --- The "wing" on the sonobuoy (also known as a Foil) --- The audio detection sensor used to activate the Alaskan buoy broadcast when they heard a whale sound --- Last but not least, the audio stream itself - consistently delivered onto the internet for scientists and the general public to study and enjoy Current goals for the buoy system include triangulation software allowing the identification and tracking of individual whales, a free-floating buoy which will travel with the currents and be tracked via GPS, and a more hydrodynamic underwater system to handle severe tidal changes and rapid currents with minimum disruption of transmission. We welcome your feedback, comments and questions on any of the work here at Jupiter Research Foundation. You can email whales@jupiterfoundation.org to let us know what you're thinking.  Quitting time - Bill and Bob heading back to Favorite Bay Lodge, Angoon, Alaska Dates to remember SCHEDULE FOR BUOY DEPLOYMENT/LIVE WEB BROADCASTING Hawaii: December – April Alaska : To be determined |
