Status and Applications of Acoustic Mitigation
and Monitoring Systems for Marine Mammals

Proposed Agenda

Meeting Objective:  Learn about, discuss and better understand the current status of acoustic hardware and software tools for marine mammal monitoring and mitigation as applied to offshore industries. This will include the capability, applicability, feasibility, availability, cost and other benefits and limitations of acoustic systems as they pertain to different marine mammal and operational contexts.  The discussion will focus on currently available acoustic systems, along with some potentially beneficial applications under development.

Tuesday, November 17, 2009

8:30 am        Registration

9:00 am        Welcome, Meeting Objectives and Agenda, Participant Introductions

9:45 am        Session I:  Setting the Stage

Goals:  Understand the present requirements for acoustic monitoring and mitigation of industry activities that fall within the Minerals Management Service’s jurisdiction and highlight key concepts for assessing what kinds of improvements are desirable and the capabilities of existing tools to provide solutions.

• Presentation:  “Current Requirements and Potential for Improvement for Acoustic Monitoring and Mitigation Systems

10:30 am       BREAK

10:45 am       Session I:  Setting the Stage [continued]

• Presentation:  “A Pragmatic Approach: Finding Functional Solutions Recognizing the Capabilities and Limitations of Existing Technology”

• Presentation:  “Framing the Discussion Using an Acoustical Ecology

12:15 pm      LUNCH on your own

1:30 pm        Session II:  The Sensor - Passive Monitoring (“fixed” systems)

Goals:  Understand the state-of-the-art regarding existing, fixed passive acoustic monitoring tools applicable to basic requirements for regulated offshore industries. Information in this session will address questions such as: What can be learned from long-term fixed or short-term fixed passive acoustic recording systems? For what kinds of sounds and under what conditions are these technologies best suited and most applicable? What monitoring and mitigation protocols are needed to achieve scientifically acceptable levels of resolutions so as to adequately address risk criteria requirements? What are the limitations and concerns of different existing solutions, under different circumstances, and when/how can these limitations be overcome?  What is the commercial availability of these systems?   What other practical considerations should be understood?  (Operational issues will be discussed in Session V.)

• Overview Presentation

• Case Examples
• Discussion (with response panel)

3:45 am        BREAK

4:00 pm        Session II:  The Sensor - Passive Monitoring (“towed” systems)

Goals:  Understand the capabilities of towed passive acoustic systems as applied to basic requirements.  Information in this session will address questions such as: Under what situations might this technology be useful or most applicable? For what kinds of sounds and under what conditions is this technology best suited and most applicable? What are the limitations and concerns, under different circumstances, and when/how can these limitations be overcome?  What is the commercial availability of these systems?  What other practical considerations should be understood?  (Operational issues will be discussed in Session V)

• Overview Presentation

• Case Examples
• Clarification Questions (discussion follows the next morning)

5:30 pm        Adjourn

6:00 pm        Social opportunity TBD

Wednesday, November 18, 2009

8:00 am        Coffee/Tea and Informal Conversation

8:45 am        Open Day 3

9:00 am        Session II:  The Sensor - Passive Monitoring (“towed” systems) [continued]

• Discussion (with response panel)

10:00 am      Session II:  The Sensor – Active Acoustic w/break

Goals:  Learn about the capabilities and limitations or concerns about available technologies and discuss the circumstances, if any, in which these technologies could be used in a way that addresses concerns.

• Overview Presentation

• Case Examples
• Discussion (with response panel)

Noon            LUNCH on own

1:15 pm       Session III:  Signal Processing

Goals:  Understand the capabilities and limitations of various software options currently available.  Discuss desired performance characteristics in different situations, and the pros and cons, and feasibility, of standardization. 

• Overview Presentation

• Case Examples
• Discussion (with response panel)

3:45 am        BREAK

4:00 pm        Session IV:  Reporting Metrics

Goals:  Discuss uses of and options for reporting metrics.

• Presentation and Discussion

5:00 pm        Adjourn

6:00 pm        Social opportunity TBD

Thursday, November 19, 2009

8:00 am        Coffee/Tea and Informal Conversation

8:30 am        Open Day 3

8:45 am        Session V:  Operations and the Operator

Goals:  Discuss the operational issues associated with operating acoustic monitoring systems on a variety of vessel types and/or other circumstances, operator qualifications and training, the pros and cons of standardization and certification, safety issues, etc.

• Interactive Panel

• Questions and Discussion

10:45 am      BREAK

11:00 am      Session VI:  Open Session

Goals:  General participant discussion of issues identified during the workshop that need additional time to explore.

12:00 pm      LUNCH on your own 

1:15 pm        Session VII:  View to the Future

Goals:   Summarize key needs and discuss what hardware and software technology is (or is not) on the near horizon to meet these needs.

3:00              Closing Session

Goals:  Summarize and provide perspectives on highlights of the workshop.

• Interactive “Listening Panel”
  Christopher Clark, William T. Ellison, Howard Rosenbaum, Brandon Southall, Bill Streever
• Closing Remarks
  Minerals Management Service

4:00              Adjourn

Contact Us

If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Forsyth Kineon at fkineon@resolv.org or 202-965-6216.