This document provides an overview of an independent study being conducted to analyze North Atlantic Right Whale activity off the coast of South Carolina. The study aims to analyze whale sighting data collected by NOAA's whale watching team between 2004-2005 and 2011-2012 in order to better understand the whales' migratory patterns. This will be used to propose alternative regulations to the existing speed limits imposed on vessels due to the endangered right whales. The study involves analyzing the location, date, and group size of all reported whale sightings in the area within 20 nautical miles north and south of Charleston harbor. Understanding the whales' habits could lead to adjusted regulations that are less restrictive on shipping traffic while still protecting the whales.
IRJET- Prospects of Inland Water Transportation in the River Drainage System ...IRJET Journal
This document discusses the potential for developing inland water transportation along the Jhelum River in Kashmir, India. It conducted a hydrographic survey of a 27 km stretch of the Jhelum River from Pampore to Chattabal to assess navigation feasibility. The survey found the river width varies from 40-210 meters and depth ranges from 0.4-13.6 meters below chart datum, indicating potential for passenger vessel transport. However, encroachments and pollution have reduced the river's capacity and a detailed design plan would be needed to restore it for regular inland water transportation.
George Campsen's North Atlantic Right Whale Independent Study Powerpoint Pres...gcampsen
The document analyzes data on North Atlantic right whale sightings and ship traffic from 2004-2012 to evaluate the effectiveness of speed regulations in reducing ship strikes. It finds that:
1) Over 70% of whale sightings were within regulated speed zones off South Carolina, but the numbers of whales sighted has been decreasing.
2) In the Northeast, over 38% of whale sightings occurred outside regulated zones, exposing whales to higher risk of ship strikes by faster vessels.
3) Entanglement, not ship strikes, has caused most right whale deaths from 2009-2012, suggesting entanglement prevention may better advance the species' protection than speed regulations.
US Fleet Forces Environmental ReadinessBryanHall58
The document discusses the United States Fleet Forces' environmental readiness programs, which include monitoring marine species and their responses to Navy training activities, conducting research on topics like marine mammal tagging, and ensuring compliance with environmental laws for actions like home basing and expanding aircraft operations. Key programs mentioned are the Integrated Comprehensive Monitoring Program, the Behavioral Response Study on beaked whales and pilot whales, and pinniped tagging in the Chesapeake Bay area.
This book covers all of the statutes and the laws in South Carolina specific to boating including licensing, registration, boat and motor titles, navigating a boat, required equipment and gear, operating a boat, salvage, boating under the influence, negligent or reckless operation of a boat, what to do in an accident, and much more
This article discusses the risks of navigating in remote and polar waters for superyachts, and how forward-looking sonar (FLS) technology can help mitigate those risks. It notes that as more superyachts cruise atypical waters like the Arctic and Antarctic, the dangers from insufficient chart data are increasing. A 3D FLS like FarSounder provides real-time imaging of the seafloor up to 500 meters ahead, allowing captains to detect uncharted obstacles in time to safely navigate. The technology is gaining adoption by military and research vessels operating in remote areas. The article advocates for FLS as a tool to help superyachts safely navigate the "sea less travelled."
On September 14, 2010, over 400,000 active duty and reserve sailors, marines, and civilians served in the Department of the Navy. Over 300 ships were actively deployed around the world conducting operations such as counter-piracy, humanitarian assistance, and training exercises. Naval facilities and medical centers conducted exercises to test their abilities to respond to contingencies and emergencies.
This document discusses various factors that can be used to determine the optimum shipping route, including monthly routeing charts, wave charts, ice charts, current information, prevailing winds, ice conditions, and other weather information sources like Navtex. Monthly routeing charts provide data on winds, temperatures, currents, and ice limits to assist navigators in planning ocean passages. Wave charts show actual and predicted wave heights and directions. Ice charts indicate ice amounts, pack locations, and iceberg positions. Current information is important for reducing travel time and fuel costs. Prevailing winds are the dominant wind patterns in different regions. Ice conditions vary by location and season. Navtex broadcasts navigational warnings and weather updates to ships.
On July 20, 2011, over 600,000 active duty and reserve sailors, midshipmen, and civilians served in the Department of the Navy across the globe. Naval ships, aircraft, and personnel conducted operations around the world including exercises, security cooperation, and humanitarian efforts. New technologies like unmanned systems were tested and evaluated while training continued to develop the next generation of naval aviators, officers, and enlisted personnel.
IRJET- Prospects of Inland Water Transportation in the River Drainage System ...IRJET Journal
This document discusses the potential for developing inland water transportation along the Jhelum River in Kashmir, India. It conducted a hydrographic survey of a 27 km stretch of the Jhelum River from Pampore to Chattabal to assess navigation feasibility. The survey found the river width varies from 40-210 meters and depth ranges from 0.4-13.6 meters below chart datum, indicating potential for passenger vessel transport. However, encroachments and pollution have reduced the river's capacity and a detailed design plan would be needed to restore it for regular inland water transportation.
George Campsen's North Atlantic Right Whale Independent Study Powerpoint Pres...gcampsen
The document analyzes data on North Atlantic right whale sightings and ship traffic from 2004-2012 to evaluate the effectiveness of speed regulations in reducing ship strikes. It finds that:
1) Over 70% of whale sightings were within regulated speed zones off South Carolina, but the numbers of whales sighted has been decreasing.
2) In the Northeast, over 38% of whale sightings occurred outside regulated zones, exposing whales to higher risk of ship strikes by faster vessels.
3) Entanglement, not ship strikes, has caused most right whale deaths from 2009-2012, suggesting entanglement prevention may better advance the species' protection than speed regulations.
US Fleet Forces Environmental ReadinessBryanHall58
The document discusses the United States Fleet Forces' environmental readiness programs, which include monitoring marine species and their responses to Navy training activities, conducting research on topics like marine mammal tagging, and ensuring compliance with environmental laws for actions like home basing and expanding aircraft operations. Key programs mentioned are the Integrated Comprehensive Monitoring Program, the Behavioral Response Study on beaked whales and pilot whales, and pinniped tagging in the Chesapeake Bay area.
This book covers all of the statutes and the laws in South Carolina specific to boating including licensing, registration, boat and motor titles, navigating a boat, required equipment and gear, operating a boat, salvage, boating under the influence, negligent or reckless operation of a boat, what to do in an accident, and much more
This article discusses the risks of navigating in remote and polar waters for superyachts, and how forward-looking sonar (FLS) technology can help mitigate those risks. It notes that as more superyachts cruise atypical waters like the Arctic and Antarctic, the dangers from insufficient chart data are increasing. A 3D FLS like FarSounder provides real-time imaging of the seafloor up to 500 meters ahead, allowing captains to detect uncharted obstacles in time to safely navigate. The technology is gaining adoption by military and research vessels operating in remote areas. The article advocates for FLS as a tool to help superyachts safely navigate the "sea less travelled."
On September 14, 2010, over 400,000 active duty and reserve sailors, marines, and civilians served in the Department of the Navy. Over 300 ships were actively deployed around the world conducting operations such as counter-piracy, humanitarian assistance, and training exercises. Naval facilities and medical centers conducted exercises to test their abilities to respond to contingencies and emergencies.
This document discusses various factors that can be used to determine the optimum shipping route, including monthly routeing charts, wave charts, ice charts, current information, prevailing winds, ice conditions, and other weather information sources like Navtex. Monthly routeing charts provide data on winds, temperatures, currents, and ice limits to assist navigators in planning ocean passages. Wave charts show actual and predicted wave heights and directions. Ice charts indicate ice amounts, pack locations, and iceberg positions. Current information is important for reducing travel time and fuel costs. Prevailing winds are the dominant wind patterns in different regions. Ice conditions vary by location and season. Navtex broadcasts navigational warnings and weather updates to ships.
On July 20, 2011, over 600,000 active duty and reserve sailors, midshipmen, and civilians served in the Department of the Navy across the globe. Naval ships, aircraft, and personnel conducted operations around the world including exercises, security cooperation, and humanitarian efforts. New technologies like unmanned systems were tested and evaluated while training continued to develop the next generation of naval aviators, officers, and enlisted personnel.
On July 20, 2011, over 600,000 active duty and reserve US Navy personnel were serving around the world. Navy ships, aircraft, and submarines conducted operations globally including exercises with partner nations and ongoing missions such as counter-piracy off Somalia. New technologies like unmanned systems were being tested and evaluated for future Navy capabilities.
The document discusses various types of charts used for ocean navigation including routeing charts, wave charts, ice charts, and current charts. Routeing charts are published monthly for major ocean basins and contain information about winds, temperatures, currents, shipping routes and hazards. Wave charts show historic and predicted wave heights and directions. Ice charts indicate ice coverage and are used to plan safe routes. Current charts display ocean circulation patterns to aid efficient voyages. Additional sources of marine weather data include Navtex broadcasts.
1992 Report of the North Carolina Environmental Sciences Review Panel to the ...jclark_selc
The document summarizes the findings and recommendations of the 1992 North Carolina Environmental Sciences Review Panel (ESRP) regarding the adequacy of available scientific information for offshore drilling in North Carolina waters. The ESRP identified major deficiencies in physical oceanographic, ecological, and socioeconomic data that limited the ability to understand and predict impacts. They recommended additional studies in these areas, especially for sites being considered for leasing, to provide the information needed to properly evaluate drilling proposals and protect the environment.
This document discusses various aspects of seamanship and marine navigation. It begins by defining seamanship as the art possessed by seafarers to safely operate ships at sea. Seamanship is evolutionary as skills are acquired over time through experience, and dynamic as the skills needed vary between roles and adapt with new technology. The document then discusses four main types of navigation: piloting, dead reckoning, celestial navigation, and radio navigation. It also defines key terms used in marine navigation like the prime meridian, nautical mile, magnetic north versus true north. The document provides diagrams and descriptions of the key parts of a research vessel and typical ship. It concludes by classifying ships according to their purposes and support types.
This thesis examines prehistoric maritime mobility in the Arctic regions of North America through an analysis of archaeological skin boat remains. It focuses on three case studies located in the Bering Strait region, Chukchi Sea region, and Central Canadian Arctic. At each site, individual boat parts were analyzed and used to reconstruct complete watercraft designs. Spatial patterns in the boat remains were also studied. This data provided insights into the scale and nature of seafaring, changes over time, and connections between regions in Arctic North America prior to written history. The analysis aims to demonstrate the key role skin boats played in constructing cultural landscapes in the prehistoric Arctic.
US safety aids to navigation system for sea enthusiasts and travelers.Glenn Sagario
This document provides information about aids to navigation in the United States. It begins with an introduction to the U.S. aids to navigation system and how markers help guide boaters similarly to road signs. It then covers the basics of lateral markers including colors, numbers, and lights used to mark navigable channels. It also discusses rules of the road for boats and navigation charts.
The Martha research project studied seafarer fatigue over multi-month voyages through questionnaires, onboard monitoring, and analysis. It found that fatigue and stress levels generally increased over voyages, with officers experiencing higher stress than crew. Sleep quantity and quality declined, increasing risks. The report recommends fatigue risk management systems to address issues like work schedules, recovery time, and incident reporting. Future research areas include optimal tour lengths and measuring mood, teamwork and social effects over long periods at sea.
This report summarizes stress data collected from instrumentation on two dry cargo ships - the SS Wolverine State and SS Mormacscan - over a total of 6,528 hours at sea. The maximum peak-to-peak stress recorded was approximately 6,900 psi in sea state 11 conditions. In general, the average recorded stresses were higher on the SS Mormacscan, which has machinery amidships, compared to the SS Wolverine State, which has machinery aft. Some higher than expected stresses at low sea states may be due to the presence of swell in addition to wind waves.
On March 19th, 2008 over 580,000 sailors, marines, and civilians were serving in the Department of the Navy. 280 active ships were deployed around the world conducting operations and exercises to support missions like counterterrorism, counter narcotics, humanitarian assistance, and theater security cooperation. Individual sailors and units across the Navy were undertaking critical tasks from carrier qualifications and amphibious exercises to port visits, overseas construction projects, and funeral honors support.
The document summarizes important changes to the Navy's physical fitness assessment instruction, provides guidance on the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, details adjustments to sea duty tour lengths, announces upcoming award opportunities, and provides historical facts and a quote of the week. Key changes to the physical fitness assessment include stricter medical waiver policies, failure consequences, and authorization of one retest. The Don't Ask Don't Tell policy has been repealed and compliance is now required. Sea duty tour lengths have been adjusted for some communities to improve manning levels at sea.
The document summarizes important changes to the Navy's physical fitness assessment instruction, provides guidance on the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, details adjustments to sea duty tour lengths, announces upcoming award opportunities, and provides historical facts and a quote of the week. Key changes to the physical fitness assessment include stricter medical waiver policies, failure consequences, and authorization of one retest. The Don't Ask Don't Tell policy has been repealed and compliance is now required. Sea duty tour lengths have been adjusted for some communities to improve manning levels at sea.
1) The Chief of Naval Operations expanded the occasions for wearing the Navy Working Uniform to include commuting and normal off-base tasks like shopping or dining.
2) The Navy consolidated its brig facilities during BRAC realignment into a new facility in Chesapeake, VA that meets fire, disability, and environmental standards.
3) Sailors preparing for the holidays should plan to reduce stress by taking leave, listening to others, keeping budgets, and exercising patience with children.
I do not have enough information to answer questions about search and rescue operations. The document provided a summary of concepts from the IAMSAR manual, but did not contain details about specific incidents. As an AI system, I do not perform search and rescue activities or make operational decisions.
The document discusses recent events in the Pacific theater including a trip to Guam and highlights Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. It provides safety tips for recreational activities over the summer months and announces updates to the Navy website and PTS program. The document also recognizes Sailors of the Year and includes brief highlights from Pacific naval history.
The document discusses recent events in the Pacific theater including a trip to Guam and highlights Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. It provides safety tips for summer activities and announces updates to the Navy website and PTS program. The document also recognizes Sailors of the Year and highlights historical events in the Pacific from the Spanish-American War and World War II.
Anti-Universe And Emergent Gravity and the Dark UniverseSérgio Sacani
Recent theoretical progress indicates that spacetime and gravity emerge together from the entanglement structure of an underlying microscopic theory. These ideas are best understood in Anti-de Sitter space, where they rely on the area law for entanglement entropy. The extension to de Sitter space requires taking into account the entropy and temperature associated with the cosmological horizon. Using insights from string theory, black hole physics and quantum information theory we argue that the positive dark energy leads to a thermal volume law contribution to the entropy that overtakes the area law precisely at the cosmological horizon. Due to the competition between area and volume law entanglement the microscopic de Sitter states do not thermalise at sub-Hubble scales: they exhibit memory effects in the form of an entropy displacement caused by matter. The emergent laws of gravity contain an additional ‘dark’ gravitational force describing the ‘elastic’ response due to the entropy displacement. We derive an estimate of the strength of this extra force in terms of the baryonic mass, Newton’s constant and the Hubble acceleration scale a0 = cH0, and provide evidence for the fact that this additional ‘dark gravity force’ explains the observed phenomena in galaxies and clusters currently attributed to dark matter.
Evaluation and Identification of J'BaFofi the Giant Spider of Congo and Moke...MrSproy
ABSTRACT
The J'BaFofi, or "Giant Spider," is a mainly legendary arachnid by reportedly inhabiting the dense rain forests of
the Congo. As despite numerous anecdotal accounts and cultural references, the scientific validation remains more elusive.
My study aims to proper evaluate the existence of the J'BaFofi through the analysis of historical reports,indigenous
testimonies and modern exploration efforts.
Order : Trombidiformes (Acarina) Class : Arachnida
Mites normally feed on the undersurface of the leaves but the symptoms are more easily seen on the uppersurface.
Tetranychids produce blotching (Spots) on the leaf-surface.
Tarsonemids and Eriophyids produce distortion (twist), puckering (Folds) or stunting (Short) of leaves.
Eriophyids produce distinct galls or blisters (fluid-filled sac in the outer layer)
On July 20, 2011, over 600,000 active duty and reserve US Navy personnel were serving around the world. Navy ships, aircraft, and submarines conducted operations globally including exercises with partner nations and ongoing missions such as counter-piracy off Somalia. New technologies like unmanned systems were being tested and evaluated for future Navy capabilities.
The document discusses various types of charts used for ocean navigation including routeing charts, wave charts, ice charts, and current charts. Routeing charts are published monthly for major ocean basins and contain information about winds, temperatures, currents, shipping routes and hazards. Wave charts show historic and predicted wave heights and directions. Ice charts indicate ice coverage and are used to plan safe routes. Current charts display ocean circulation patterns to aid efficient voyages. Additional sources of marine weather data include Navtex broadcasts.
1992 Report of the North Carolina Environmental Sciences Review Panel to the ...jclark_selc
The document summarizes the findings and recommendations of the 1992 North Carolina Environmental Sciences Review Panel (ESRP) regarding the adequacy of available scientific information for offshore drilling in North Carolina waters. The ESRP identified major deficiencies in physical oceanographic, ecological, and socioeconomic data that limited the ability to understand and predict impacts. They recommended additional studies in these areas, especially for sites being considered for leasing, to provide the information needed to properly evaluate drilling proposals and protect the environment.
This document discusses various aspects of seamanship and marine navigation. It begins by defining seamanship as the art possessed by seafarers to safely operate ships at sea. Seamanship is evolutionary as skills are acquired over time through experience, and dynamic as the skills needed vary between roles and adapt with new technology. The document then discusses four main types of navigation: piloting, dead reckoning, celestial navigation, and radio navigation. It also defines key terms used in marine navigation like the prime meridian, nautical mile, magnetic north versus true north. The document provides diagrams and descriptions of the key parts of a research vessel and typical ship. It concludes by classifying ships according to their purposes and support types.
This thesis examines prehistoric maritime mobility in the Arctic regions of North America through an analysis of archaeological skin boat remains. It focuses on three case studies located in the Bering Strait region, Chukchi Sea region, and Central Canadian Arctic. At each site, individual boat parts were analyzed and used to reconstruct complete watercraft designs. Spatial patterns in the boat remains were also studied. This data provided insights into the scale and nature of seafaring, changes over time, and connections between regions in Arctic North America prior to written history. The analysis aims to demonstrate the key role skin boats played in constructing cultural landscapes in the prehistoric Arctic.
US safety aids to navigation system for sea enthusiasts and travelers.Glenn Sagario
This document provides information about aids to navigation in the United States. It begins with an introduction to the U.S. aids to navigation system and how markers help guide boaters similarly to road signs. It then covers the basics of lateral markers including colors, numbers, and lights used to mark navigable channels. It also discusses rules of the road for boats and navigation charts.
The Martha research project studied seafarer fatigue over multi-month voyages through questionnaires, onboard monitoring, and analysis. It found that fatigue and stress levels generally increased over voyages, with officers experiencing higher stress than crew. Sleep quantity and quality declined, increasing risks. The report recommends fatigue risk management systems to address issues like work schedules, recovery time, and incident reporting. Future research areas include optimal tour lengths and measuring mood, teamwork and social effects over long periods at sea.
This report summarizes stress data collected from instrumentation on two dry cargo ships - the SS Wolverine State and SS Mormacscan - over a total of 6,528 hours at sea. The maximum peak-to-peak stress recorded was approximately 6,900 psi in sea state 11 conditions. In general, the average recorded stresses were higher on the SS Mormacscan, which has machinery amidships, compared to the SS Wolverine State, which has machinery aft. Some higher than expected stresses at low sea states may be due to the presence of swell in addition to wind waves.
On March 19th, 2008 over 580,000 sailors, marines, and civilians were serving in the Department of the Navy. 280 active ships were deployed around the world conducting operations and exercises to support missions like counterterrorism, counter narcotics, humanitarian assistance, and theater security cooperation. Individual sailors and units across the Navy were undertaking critical tasks from carrier qualifications and amphibious exercises to port visits, overseas construction projects, and funeral honors support.
The document summarizes important changes to the Navy's physical fitness assessment instruction, provides guidance on the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, details adjustments to sea duty tour lengths, announces upcoming award opportunities, and provides historical facts and a quote of the week. Key changes to the physical fitness assessment include stricter medical waiver policies, failure consequences, and authorization of one retest. The Don't Ask Don't Tell policy has been repealed and compliance is now required. Sea duty tour lengths have been adjusted for some communities to improve manning levels at sea.
The document summarizes important changes to the Navy's physical fitness assessment instruction, provides guidance on the repeal of Don't Ask Don't Tell, details adjustments to sea duty tour lengths, announces upcoming award opportunities, and provides historical facts and a quote of the week. Key changes to the physical fitness assessment include stricter medical waiver policies, failure consequences, and authorization of one retest. The Don't Ask Don't Tell policy has been repealed and compliance is now required. Sea duty tour lengths have been adjusted for some communities to improve manning levels at sea.
1) The Chief of Naval Operations expanded the occasions for wearing the Navy Working Uniform to include commuting and normal off-base tasks like shopping or dining.
2) The Navy consolidated its brig facilities during BRAC realignment into a new facility in Chesapeake, VA that meets fire, disability, and environmental standards.
3) Sailors preparing for the holidays should plan to reduce stress by taking leave, listening to others, keeping budgets, and exercising patience with children.
I do not have enough information to answer questions about search and rescue operations. The document provided a summary of concepts from the IAMSAR manual, but did not contain details about specific incidents. As an AI system, I do not perform search and rescue activities or make operational decisions.
The document discusses recent events in the Pacific theater including a trip to Guam and highlights Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. It provides safety tips for recreational activities over the summer months and announces updates to the Navy website and PTS program. The document also recognizes Sailors of the Year and includes brief highlights from Pacific naval history.
The document discusses recent events in the Pacific theater including a trip to Guam and highlights Asian/Pacific American Heritage Month. It provides safety tips for summer activities and announces updates to the Navy website and PTS program. The document also recognizes Sailors of the Year and highlights historical events in the Pacific from the Spanish-American War and World War II.
Anti-Universe And Emergent Gravity and the Dark UniverseSérgio Sacani
Recent theoretical progress indicates that spacetime and gravity emerge together from the entanglement structure of an underlying microscopic theory. These ideas are best understood in Anti-de Sitter space, where they rely on the area law for entanglement entropy. The extension to de Sitter space requires taking into account the entropy and temperature associated with the cosmological horizon. Using insights from string theory, black hole physics and quantum information theory we argue that the positive dark energy leads to a thermal volume law contribution to the entropy that overtakes the area law precisely at the cosmological horizon. Due to the competition between area and volume law entanglement the microscopic de Sitter states do not thermalise at sub-Hubble scales: they exhibit memory effects in the form of an entropy displacement caused by matter. The emergent laws of gravity contain an additional ‘dark’ gravitational force describing the ‘elastic’ response due to the entropy displacement. We derive an estimate of the strength of this extra force in terms of the baryonic mass, Newton’s constant and the Hubble acceleration scale a0 = cH0, and provide evidence for the fact that this additional ‘dark gravity force’ explains the observed phenomena in galaxies and clusters currently attributed to dark matter.
Evaluation and Identification of J'BaFofi the Giant Spider of Congo and Moke...MrSproy
ABSTRACT
The J'BaFofi, or "Giant Spider," is a mainly legendary arachnid by reportedly inhabiting the dense rain forests of
the Congo. As despite numerous anecdotal accounts and cultural references, the scientific validation remains more elusive.
My study aims to proper evaluate the existence of the J'BaFofi through the analysis of historical reports,indigenous
testimonies and modern exploration efforts.
Order : Trombidiformes (Acarina) Class : Arachnida
Mites normally feed on the undersurface of the leaves but the symptoms are more easily seen on the uppersurface.
Tetranychids produce blotching (Spots) on the leaf-surface.
Tarsonemids and Eriophyids produce distortion (twist), puckering (Folds) or stunting (Short) of leaves.
Eriophyids produce distinct galls or blisters (fluid-filled sac in the outer layer)
Evidence of Jet Activity from the Secondary Black Hole in the OJ 287 Binary S...Sérgio Sacani
Wereport the study of a huge optical intraday flare on 2021 November 12 at 2 a.m. UT in the blazar OJ287. In the binary black hole model, it is associated with an impact of the secondary black hole on the accretion disk of the primary. Our multifrequency observing campaign was set up to search for such a signature of the impact based on a prediction made 8 yr earlier. The first I-band results of the flare have already been reported by Kishore et al. (2024). Here we combine these data with our monitoring in the R-band. There is a big change in the R–I spectral index by 1.0 ±0.1 between the normal background and the flare, suggesting a new component of radiation. The polarization variation during the rise of the flare suggests the same. The limits on the source size place it most reasonably in the jet of the secondary BH. We then ask why we have not seen this phenomenon before. We show that OJ287 was never before observed with sufficient sensitivity on the night when the flare should have happened according to the binary model. We also study the probability that this flare is just an oversized example of intraday variability using the Krakow data set of intense monitoring between 2015 and 2023. We find that the occurrence of a flare of this size and rapidity is unlikely. In machine-readable Tables 1 and 2, we give the full orbit-linked historical light curve of OJ287 as well as the dense monitoring sample of Krakow.
Dr. Firoozeh Kashani-Sabet is an innovator in Middle Eastern Studies and approaches her work, particularly focused on Iran, with a depth and commitment that has resulted in multiple book publications. She is notable for her work with the University of Pennsylvania, where she serves as the Walter H. Annenberg Professor of History.
Discovery of An Apparent Red, High-Velocity Type Ia Supernova at 𝐳 = 2.9 wi...Sérgio Sacani
We present the JWST discovery of SN 2023adsy, a transient object located in a host galaxy JADES-GS
+
53.13485
−
27.82088
with a host spectroscopic redshift of
2.903
±
0.007
. The transient was identified in deep James Webb Space Telescope (JWST)/NIRCam imaging from the JWST Advanced Deep Extragalactic Survey (JADES) program. Photometric and spectroscopic followup with NIRCam and NIRSpec, respectively, confirm the redshift and yield UV-NIR light-curve, NIR color, and spectroscopic information all consistent with a Type Ia classification. Despite its classification as a likely SN Ia, SN 2023adsy is both fairly red (
�
(
�
−
�
)
∼
0.9
) despite a host galaxy with low-extinction and has a high Ca II velocity (
19
,
000
±
2
,
000
km/s) compared to the general population of SNe Ia. While these characteristics are consistent with some Ca-rich SNe Ia, particularly SN 2016hnk, SN 2023adsy is intrinsically brighter than the low-
�
Ca-rich population. Although such an object is too red for any low-
�
cosmological sample, we apply a fiducial standardization approach to SN 2023adsy and find that the SN 2023adsy luminosity distance measurement is in excellent agreement (
≲
1
�
) with
Λ
CDM. Therefore unlike low-
�
Ca-rich SNe Ia, SN 2023adsy is standardizable and gives no indication that SN Ia standardized luminosities change significantly with redshift. A larger sample of distant SNe Ia is required to determine if SN Ia population characteristics at high-
�
truly diverge from their low-
�
counterparts, and to confirm that standardized luminosities nevertheless remain constant with redshift.
Presentation of our paper, "Towards Quantitative Evaluation of Explainable AI Methods for Deepfake Detection", by K. Tsigos, E. Apostolidis, S. Baxevanakis, S. Papadopoulos, V. Mezaris. Presented at the ACM Int. Workshop on Multimedia AI against Disinformation (MAD’24) of the ACM Int. Conf. on Multimedia Retrieval (ICMR’24), Thailand, June 2024. https://doi.org/10.1145/3643491.3660292 https://arxiv.org/abs/2404.18649
Software available at https://github.com/IDT-ITI/XAI-Deepfakes
JAMES WEBB STUDY THE MASSIVE BLACK HOLE SEEDSSérgio Sacani
The pathway(s) to seeding the massive black holes (MBHs) that exist at the heart of galaxies in the present and distant Universe remains an unsolved problem. Here we categorise, describe and quantitatively discuss the formation pathways of both light and heavy seeds. We emphasise that the most recent computational models suggest that rather than a bimodal-like mass spectrum between light and heavy seeds with light at one end and heavy at the other that instead a continuum exists. Light seeds being more ubiquitous and the heavier seeds becoming less and less abundant due the rarer environmental conditions required for their formation. We therefore examine the different mechanisms that give rise to different seed mass spectrums. We show how and why the mechanisms that produce the heaviest seeds are also among the rarest events in the Universe and are hence extremely unlikely to be the seeds for the vast majority of the MBH population. We quantify, within the limits of the current large uncertainties in the seeding processes, the expected number densities of the seed mass spectrum. We argue that light seeds must be at least 103 to 105 times more numerous than heavy seeds to explain the MBH population as a whole. Based on our current understanding of the seed population this makes heavy seeds (Mseed > 103 M⊙) a significantly more likely pathway given that heavy seeds have an abundance pattern than is close to and likely in excess of 10−4 compared to light seeds. Finally, we examine the current state-of-the-art in numerical calculations and recent observations and plot a path forward for near-future advances in both domains.
Signatures of wave erosion in Titan’s coastsSérgio Sacani
The shorelines of Titan’s hydrocarbon seas trace flooded erosional landforms such as river valleys; however, it isunclear whether coastal erosion has subsequently altered these shorelines. Spacecraft observations and theo-retical models suggest that wind may cause waves to form on Titan’s seas, potentially driving coastal erosion,but the observational evidence of waves is indirect, and the processes affecting shoreline evolution on Titanremain unknown. No widely accepted framework exists for using shoreline morphology to quantitatively dis-cern coastal erosion mechanisms, even on Earth, where the dominant mechanisms are known. We combinelandscape evolution models with measurements of shoreline shape on Earth to characterize how differentcoastal erosion mechanisms affect shoreline morphology. Applying this framework to Titan, we find that theshorelines of Titan’s seas are most consistent with flooded landscapes that subsequently have been eroded bywaves, rather than a uniform erosional process or no coastal erosion, particularly if wave growth saturates atfetch lengths of tens of kilometers.
BIRDS DIVERSITY OF SOOTEA BISWANATH ASSAM.ppt.pptxgoluk9330
Ahota Beel, nestled in Sootea Biswanath Assam , is celebrated for its extraordinary diversity of bird species. This wetland sanctuary supports a myriad of avian residents and migrants alike. Visitors can admire the elegant flights of migratory species such as the Northern Pintail and Eurasian Wigeon, alongside resident birds including the Asian Openbill and Pheasant-tailed Jacana. With its tranquil scenery and varied habitats, Ahota Beel offers a perfect haven for birdwatchers to appreciate and study the vibrant birdlife that thrives in this natural refuge.
Compositions of iron-meteorite parent bodies constrainthe structure of the pr...Sérgio Sacani
Magmatic iron-meteorite parent bodies are the earliest planetesimals in the Solar System,and they preserve information about conditions and planet-forming processes in thesolar nebula. In this study, we include comprehensive elemental compositions andfractional-crystallization modeling for iron meteorites from the cores of five differenti-ated asteroids from the inner Solar System. Together with previous results of metalliccores from the outer Solar System, we conclude that asteroidal cores from the outerSolar System have smaller sizes, elevated siderophile-element abundances, and simplercrystallization processes than those from the inner Solar System. These differences arerelated to the formation locations of the parent asteroids because the solar protoplane-tary disk varied in redox conditions, elemental distributions, and dynamics at differentheliocentric distances. Using highly siderophile-element data from iron meteorites, wereconstruct the distribution of calcium-aluminum-rich inclusions (CAIs) across theprotoplanetary disk within the first million years of Solar-System history. CAIs, the firstsolids to condense in the Solar System, formed close to the Sun. They were, however,concentrated within the outer disk and depleted within the inner disk. Future modelsof the structure and evolution of the protoplanetary disk should account for this dis-tribution pattern of CAIs.
Candidate young stellar objects in the S-cluster: Kinematic analysis of a sub...Sérgio Sacani
Context. The observation of several L-band emission sources in the S cluster has led to a rich discussion of their nature. However, a definitive answer to the classification of the dusty objects requires an explanation for the detection of compact Doppler-shifted Brγ emission. The ionized hydrogen in combination with the observation of mid-infrared L-band continuum emission suggests that most of these sources are embedded in a dusty envelope. These embedded sources are part of the S-cluster, and their relationship to the S-stars is still under debate. To date, the question of the origin of these two populations has been vague, although all explanations favor migration processes for the individual cluster members. Aims. This work revisits the S-cluster and its dusty members orbiting the supermassive black hole SgrA* on bound Keplerian orbits from a kinematic perspective. The aim is to explore the Keplerian parameters for patterns that might imply a nonrandom distribution of the sample. Additionally, various analytical aspects are considered to address the nature of the dusty sources. Methods. Based on the photometric analysis, we estimated the individual H−K and K−L colors for the source sample and compared the results to known cluster members. The classification revealed a noticeable contrast between the S-stars and the dusty sources. To fit the flux-density distribution, we utilized the radiative transfer code HYPERION and implemented a young stellar object Class I model. We obtained the position angle from the Keplerian fit results; additionally, we analyzed the distribution of the inclinations and the longitudes of the ascending node. Results. The colors of the dusty sources suggest a stellar nature consistent with the spectral energy distribution in the near and midinfrared domains. Furthermore, the evaporation timescales of dusty and gaseous clumps in the vicinity of SgrA* are much shorter ( 2yr) than the epochs covered by the observations (≈15yr). In addition to the strong evidence for the stellar classification of the D-sources, we also find a clear disk-like pattern following the arrangements of S-stars proposed in the literature. Furthermore, we find a global intrinsic inclination for all dusty sources of 60 ± 20◦, implying a common formation process. Conclusions. The pattern of the dusty sources manifested in the distribution of the position angles, inclinations, and longitudes of the ascending node strongly suggests two different scenarios: the main-sequence stars and the dusty stellar S-cluster sources share a common formation history or migrated with a similar formation channel in the vicinity of SgrA*. Alternatively, the gravitational influence of SgrA* in combination with a massive perturber, such as a putative intermediate mass black hole in the IRS 13 cluster, forces the dusty objects and S-stars to follow a particular orbital arrangement. Key words. stars: black holes– stars: formation– Galaxy: center– galaxies: star formation
George Campsen's North Atlantic Right Whale Independent Study Document
1. INDEPENDENT STUDY 1
Table of Contents
INDEPENDENT STUDY INTRODUCTION………………………………………………………………..2
THE STUDY…...……………………………………………………………………………………………………..6
2. INDEPENDENT STUDY 2
INTRODUCTION
Recently while meeting with members of the Charleston Pilots Association I became
aware of a Federal regulatory matter that hinders not only the course and scope of
Charleston Harbor Pilots’ work, but also commerce in and out of the Port of
Charleston. On 10 October 2008 the Federal Register issued regulation 50 CFR Part
224.105 in order to protect the endangered North Atlantic Right Whale1. I am
proposing to study North Atlantic Right Whale activity off the coast of South
Carolina to effectively understand the specie’s migratory patterns and habits, so that
I may present an alternate and less imposing law to the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration at their hearing on May 16th 2013 in Jacksonville
Florida.
Federal regulation 50 CFR Part 224.105 is an effort to protect the endangered North
Atlantic Right Whale from one of the leading causes of their death: ship strikes2. The
new regulation created “speed zones” for vessels greater than 65 feet in length along
the East Coast of the United States. These speed zones are only effective during
certain months of the year, and follow the yearly migration of the Right whales as
they move from the Northeast waters to their calving grounds off of Florida.
Federal Regulation 50 CFR Part 224.105 divides the east coast of the United States
into three different zones: Northeast, Mid-Atlantic, and Southeast. South Carolina
3. INDEPENDENT STUDY 3
falls into the Mid-Atlantic category and is regulated from November 1st through
April 30th of each year3.
While this regulation is a minor inconvenience to private or recreational boaters, it
impedes the effectiveness of the Charleston Harbor Pilots who deal solely with the
movement of vessels that must adhere to the 10-knot speed regulation.
Charleston’s shipping channel extends fifteen miles into the North Atlantic where it
stops at the sea buoy. There the pilot boards incoming ships and de-boards
outbound ships. Because pilot boats are greater than 65 feet in length, they must
travel at a maximum speed of 10 knots to meet the incoming ship when the
regulation is in effect. Once the pilot is on board the ship, he must also make the 15-
mile sail back to port at a maximum speed of 10 knots. For outbound ships the
process is simply reversed and the same regulations apply.
Because Harbor Pilots are in the business of moving goods, it is critically important
that they, like any business, operate as effectively as possible otherwise they cannot
meet demand and may suffer economic losses due to unhappy customers. Because
the Charleston Pilots are on a limited budget and have a limited staff, they cannot
keep trade moving efficiently at a 10-knot speed. During the regulated period, pilots
do not operate to full efficiency; therefore it is common for ships to wait for hours
outside of the port of Charleston during the regulated period. In effect, the Port of
4. INDEPENDENT STUDY 4
Charleston loses attraction for major shipping lines, hurting South Carolina’s
economy as well as the Charleston Harbor Pilots.
Throughout the course of my independent study, I will do a thorough review and
analysis of the annual Right Whale reports posted by the National Oceanic and
Atmospheric Administration’s (NOAA) whale watching team1 as well as comparing
Right Whale Habits and regulations in certain regions and proposing alternative
laws. This team flies off the coast of South Carolina and Georgia every day that the
weather permits throughout the migratory season. For the team’s study purposes,
South Carolina’s waters are divided into three separate flight zones: Northern,
Middle, and Southern. Each day they alternate which zone they fly. As the team
carries out their flights, they continually look for whales and report the date,
latitude, longitude, and group size for every right whale sighting. They also report
the survey area and Trackline miles flown on a daily basis4. After gathering and
analyzing all of this data, I will produce a thorough yet concise presentation
illustrating right whale habits and trends off of South Carolina.
My goals for this study are two-fold. First and foremost, I hope that I will make a
favorable and lasting impression on the Charleston Harbor Pilots as I work with and
around them this semester. If I am successful in accomplishing that, my chances of
becoming a harbor Pilot in Charleston Harbor will improve greatly. Second, I will
1 http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/mm/rightwhales/SoutheastRegionsContractsAerialSurveyReports.htm
5. INDEPENDENT STUDY 5
deliver a thorough presentation to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric
Administration on 16 May 2013 in Jacksonville, Florida in hopes of changing the
current regulations to one of two alternatives. If I can accomplish this goal then I
will play a pivotal role in speeding up commerce and making Charleston Harbor
Pilots’ lives easier on top of winning favor in the eyes of those who ultimately
choose the next Pilot in Charleston Harbor.
6. INDEPENDENT STUDY 6
THE BEGINNING
At the beginning of my independent study I met extensively with Captain John,
Cameron USCG Ret., who currently manages business affairs for the Charleston
Pilots Association. During the initial meeting he imparted what knowledge he had of
North Atlantic Right Whale habits, and we collectively devised a plan of how I
should conduct my research. Following our meeting I familiarized myself with the
federal regulations regarding ship speed, the ongoing yearly study of the Whales off
South Carolina, and the traits and habits of these creatures up and down the eastern
seaboard.
After my brief initial study of the task, we met again to decide that the most effective
and scientific way to pattern these whales would be using South Carolina’s annual
reports prepared by NOAA’s whale watching team as our database. Later I will
explain the details of the NOAA team as well as the methodology for the flights off
South Carolina and how I used that information in my research.
Upon determining what data I was going to use for my database, Captain Cameron
and I collectively decided on an area of interest as well as a time frame. Because I
believe whale activity differs throughout South Carolina’s coastal waters, and that
my focus should be on Charleston Harbor, I chose to study the area that extends 20
nautical miles to the north and south of Charleston harbor. In terms of latitude, this
area ranges from 32° 20’ N to 33° N. Next I viewed the annual Right Whale reports,
7. INDEPENDENT STUDY 7
discovering that they extend back to the 2004-2005 migratory season. With that
information I decided to use the reports for seasons 2004-2005 through 2011-2012
to hopefully gather enough information to create a long-term picture of whale
activity off the coast of South Carolina.
NOAA’S WHALE WATCHING TEAM
As I previously mentioned, NOAA federally funds a whale watching team of four
trained professionals who are responsible for documenting North Atlantic Right
Whale activity off the coast of South Carolina each migratory season. This team is
composed of one pilot, one co-pilot, and two observers who live on the Isle of Palms,
South Carolina from November 15th to April 15th, flying the coast of South Carolina
every day that the weather permits, spotting and recording whales in the area.
Following is the team’s description of how they methodically fly the coast of South
Carolina:
“The SC survey area for the 2005/2006 season extended from North Myrtle
Beach, SC to the northern end of Sapelo Island, GA. The survey area was
divided into three sections: northern, middle and southern. The northern
area extended from North Myrtle Beach, SC to Cape Romain, SC and consisted
of sixteen southeast/northwest transect lines of varied lengths (35.1 - 35.3
nautical miles) which were flown at approximately 4 nm intervals. The
middle area extended from Cape Romain, SC to Fripp Island, SC and consisted
8. INDEPENDENT STUDY 8
of sixteen southeast/northwest transect lines of varied lengths (35.3 - 35.4
nm) which were also flown at approximately 4 nm intervals. The southern
section extended from Hilton Head Island, SC to Sapelo Island, GA and
consisted of fourteen east/west transect lines of varied lengths (11.7 – 29.0
nm) which were flown at 3 nm intervals (figure 1). The northern and middle
transit lines were flown in a southeast/northwest direction as opposed to the
east/west direction of the southern section in order to cover a larger
bathymetric range as well as to provide visual data to substantiate the
acoustic data collected by passive detection devices located in the area. A
complete northern survey consisted of 563.4 nm of trackline flown. A
complete middle survey consisted of 565.2 nm of trackline flown. A complete
southern survey consisted of 323.5 nm of trackline flown (table 1). These
totals do not include miles flown in transit to, from, and between transect
lines. The survey aircraft departed from East Cooper Airport in Mt. Pleasant,
SC each day. After completing half of the survey lines for the day, the plane
would break for fuel and to provide a break for observers to avoid observer
fatigue. When flying in the northern section, the plane would refuel at
Georgetown Airport in Georgetown, SC. In the middle section the plane
would refuel at East Cooper Airport. In the southern section, the plane would
refuel at Hilton Head Airport in Hilton Head, SC or at Frogmore Airport in
Beaufort, SC. The plane returned to East Cooper Airport at the end of each
normal survey day. Without whale sightings, a complete northern survey
9. INDEPENDENT STUDY 9
took approximately 7.9 hobbs hours to finish, a complete middle section took
approximately 7.6 hours, and a complete southern section took
approximately 6.2 hours. This includes transit times to and from the
airports.”2
Understanding how the surveys were conducted and how the Tracklines worked, I
set out to determine which Tracklines, and what percentage of each one were in my
area of interest. In doing so I plotted all of the Tracklines’ latitude and longitude
points in Excel, added a trend line, the 20 nautical mile barrier, and my North and
South barriers to my area of interest. Upon completion I overlaid this on the
nautical chart below:
2 http://sero.nmfs.noaa.gov/pr/pdf/05_06%20SCGA%20Final%20Report.pdf
10. INDEPENDENT STUDY 10
Starting there I needed to use my own discretion in determining what percentage of
the Trackline was in my area of interest and how many miles were flown in my area
of interest on a given day. Following is my methodology for determining “Trackline
Miles” as well as any assumptions made in Trackline work.
“TRACKLINE SCIENCE”
Assumptions/ Potential Questions:
Assumption #1 regarding Tracklines: Tracklines are counted from North to South in
the South Carolina / Georgia (SCGA) survey region. There are 46 total Tracklines,
with at least a portion of Tracklines 10-31 falling within the range of 32° 20’N to
33°N
11. INDEPENDENT STUDY 11
In my Research I have the Tracklines listed as being the same for every year when
the reports say that they changed in both location and in numerical value. This is
due to the fact that:
Tracklines are the same for:
All years 2004-2011
- In the 2007-2008 report NOAA Changed the input method of the Latitude
and Longitude Coordinates:
o From degrees and MINUTES to Decimal place.
o For example: here are the data points for Trackline 1 in the 2006-
2007 season
Latitude West- 31 34.8
Longitude West- -81 7.8
Latitude East- 31 34.8
Longitude East- -80 34.2
- Here are the data points for Trackline 1 in the 2007-2008 season- they
changed the input method but not the value
Latitude West- 31.58 34.8/.6= 58
Longitude West- -81.13 7.8/.6= 13
Latitude East- 31.58 34.8/.6= 58
Longitude East -80.57 34.2/.6= 57
From 2007-2008 forward, the reports used a decimal system instead of the degrees
and minutes, but the values remain the same.
- Trackline location description changes from Sapelo Island, GA to St. Catherine’s
Island GA from 2005-2006 to 2006-2007 even though the Latitude/ Longitude
remains the same. A small inlet separates these locations and I am assuming that
the study uses the center of the inlet as its last Trackline point, therefore the names
are interchangeable.
Assumptions made on Trackline miles flown between 32° 20’ N to 33°N.
I Have found that Tracklines 10-31 (Counting the south Carolina surveys North to
South) have at least some of the line within the boundary of 32° 20’ N to 33°N.
For Northern surveys 2004-2006:
- The first nine (9) Tracklines are not within the ranges of 32° 20’ N to 33°N,
therefore miles flown in that region will not be counted. Surveys were flown
12. INDEPENDENT STUDY 12
from north to south with the westernmost point of the northernmost
Trackline being the starting point for each day’s flights.
METHODOLOGY FOR MEASURING DISTANCE FOR FLIGHTS FLOWN BETWEEN
32° 20’ N to 33°N.
I devised my own methodology to determine just how many miles were flown in my
area of interest (32° 20’ N to 33°N) on a daily basis.
Each day’s flights covered one area- either the northern area, middle area, or the
southern area. Both the northern and middle areas have part of their Tracklines
between the latitudes 32° 20’ N to 33°N while the southern area does not. The
northern area has approximately 179.5 out of 563.4 Trackline miles in my area of
interest. The middle area has approximately 389.4 out of 565.2 Trackline miles in
my area of interest.
During the 2004-2005 and 2005-2006 seasons the flights started at the
westernmost point of the northernmost Trackline for the specified area (North,
Middle, or South).
During the 2006-2007 season the protocol changed and the flights started at the
westernmost point of the southernmost Trackline for the specified area. I calculated
the Trackline miles flown for each year independently so it was easy to compensate
for this change.
In order to calculate how many miles were flown over 32° 20’ N to 33°N, I charted
all of the Tracklines off of South Carolina in an Excel scatterplot. In doing this, I
plotted both the easternmost and westernmost Latitude/Longitude points for every
Trackline and then created a trend line for each set of coordinates. This drew a
straight line between the two exact Latitude and Longitude points and created the
exact Trackline that the airplane flies. After I had all 46 Tracklines plotted, I created
straight lines at the latitudes of 32° 20’ N and 33°N to mark where my area of
interest ended.
Naturally my area of interest cut many of the Tracklines into fractions. So I then
zoomed in and approximated what percentage of the Trackline fell into my area of
interest.
Once I had the Tracklines plotted and percentages assigned to each, I entered the
information for the length of the Tracklines (taken off the Right Whale Annual
Reports) into Excel and could then determine how many miles were flown in my
area of interest in a particular flight.
13. INDEPENDENT STUDY 13
Below is an example of my work. These are the seven southernmost Tracklines in
the northern area of study.
Trackline Length (nm) % of Trackline Total Total
Within 32° 20’ N Miles Miles
to 33°N Flown w/in
Area
10 35.2 33% 351.8 11.6
11 35.2 50% 387 29.2
12 35.2 66% 422.2 52.4
13 35.3 75% 457.5 78.9
14 35.3 90% 492.8 110.7
15 35.3 95% 528.1 144.2
16 35.3 100% 563.4 179.5
By the time the plane has reached Trackline 10 it has already flown 351.8 miles
with zero being in my area of interest. I noticed that approximately one third of
Trackline 10 is in my area of interest, so by the time that the plane finished
Trackline ten they would have flown approximately (35.2 X .33) 11.6 miles in my
area of interest. From there I have periodic calculations at the end of each and every
Trackline, including how many miles fall in my area of interest.
The same process was used for the Middle region. Flights in the Southern Region
were not counted as, all Tracklines are south of 32° 20’ N.
The Trackline miles flown for each day and the region flown are listed in chart form
in the annual Right Whale reports. These charts are where I gathered all of my
Trackline miles flown data. Following is an example of the chart:
14. INDEPENDENT STUDY 14
For each day and determined how many Trackline miles were flown in my area of
interest per day, and then added those numbers to determine monthly Trackline
miles flown within my area of interest.
The chart below is an example my monthly breakdown of Trackline miles flown per
year and in total. I used these numbers to determine my statistic of Whales seen/
per 1000 Trackline miles flown, which is shown on the second data set below.
9
flew a dedicated search to relocate the carcass. The crew found and documented a dead
humpback roughly 1 nm NE of the reported position from the previous day. No survey was
flown due to high seas. 3.3 flight hours were used to locate the dead whale.
Table 2: Survey effort for the SCRW surveys conducted from 24 November 2005 - 15 April
2006. S = southern survey, N = northern survey, M = middle survey.
Date
Complete
Surveys
Partial
Surveys
Survey
HobbsTime
Total
trackline
milesflown
Trackline
milesflown
inBeaufort
SS<3
Numberof
whalesseen
Comments
15-Nov-05 1.3 test flight
1-Dec-05 M 8.1 527.2 268.5 2
3-Dec-05 N 8.2 552.9 493 2
5-Dec-05 S 3.5 137.7 55.6 0
7-Dec-05 N 8.4 563.4 152 0
10-Dec-05 N 6.9 492.8 296 0
12-Dec-05 S 6.2 261.4 67.3 2
16-Dec-05 M 4.1 190.6 92.2 0
17-Dec-05 M 2.7 168.7 0 0
19-Dec-05 S 4.3 207.7 207.7 0
20-Dec-05 M 1.9 106.5 7.3 0
23-Dec-05 N 7.6 538.5 320 0
24-Dec-05 S 6.8 323.5 323.5 0
27-Dec-05 M 8.3 565.2 220.2 0
28-Dec-05 N 7.9 563.4 112.06 0
30-Dec-05 S 5.9 323.5 287.4 2
1-Jan-06 M 6.4 282.4 282.4 0
4-Jan-06 S 7.4 323.5 323.5 12 11 individuals, 1 resight
5-Jan-06 M 3.6 207.6 12.4 0
Year
2004-
2005
2005-
2006
2006-
2007
2007-
2008
2008-
2009
2009-
2010 2010-2011
M
o
n
t
h
November 0 0 389.4 0.00 1137.8 1065.3 887.7
December 2833.6 2043.5 1312.4 929.6 1276.5 681.9 1928.1
January 2190.7 2571.2 845.3 1296.1 1237 2543 1437.2
February 1419.3 2175.9 1194.2 1416.1 2665 1277.1 772.2
March 2909.7 1827.5 1107.4 2186.4 2653.5 2277.8 1263.8
April 1235.5 1234.7 713.1 864 568.9 994.9 1519.2
15. INDEPENDENT STUDY 15
2004-2005
Month November December January February March April TOTALS
Trackline
Miles
Flown/1000 0.00 2.83 2.19 1.42 2.91 1.24 10.59
Whales
Seen 32°
20' to 33° 0 6 2 0 6 0 14
Whales
Seen 32°
20' to 33°/
1000
Trackline
Miles #DIV/0! 2.1 0.9 0.0 2.1 0.0 1.3
DETERMINIG THE DATE AND LOCATION OF SPECFIC WHALE SIGHTINGS
RECORDING THE SIGHITNGS
After conceptually creating the study and a method for determining how many
Trackline miles were flown in my area of interest, I entered individual whale
sightings. I searched the Internet extensively and found many copies of the annual
reports, but could not download them neatly into an excel spreadsheet. I contacted
NOAA, the Sea to Shore Alliance, members of the NOAA Whale Watching team as
well as The Wildlife Trust Aquatic Conservation Program, but found that no one
could provide me with this data in an organized, spreadsheet format. I then decided
to manually enter all of the data from the annual South Carolina reports into an
excel spreadsheet.
16. INDEPENDENT STUDY 16
In order to accurately pin individual sightings for each whale, I recorded all of the
sightings from the aerial surveys, sorting the data to display only whales within the
ranges of 32° 20’ N and 33°N. I did this on a yearly basis and further sorted the
sightings by month. Here is a brief example of some of the entries for the 2004-2005
Whale season:
Date Longitude Latitude EGNO
4-Dec -81.02 31.70 1245
4-Dec -81.02 31.70
5-Dec -79.81 32.47 2040
7-Dec -79.57 32.81 1246
7-Dec -79.57 32.81 CALF
As you can see, I included date, Latitude, Longitude, as well as the EGNO number,
which is essentially an identification number for a specific whale.
Once I entered all of the information for the years 2004-2005 through 2010-2011
and filtered the data, I created a scatterplot graph to give a visual representation of
whale sightings for that specified year between the ranges of 32° 20’ N and 33°N. I
formatted the scatterplot so the gridline values lined up with the Latitude and
Longitude marks of the nautical chart. From there I scaled the gridlines to match the
Latitude and longitude marks, and then made the gridlines invisible once I had the
Latitude and Longitude correctly positioned. I also included on the chart the
shipping channel, the 20- nm speed zone, as well as frequent headings from the sea
buoy (displayed in yellow). The bottom half of the Power Point slide below shows
said plot for the 2004-2005 migratory season:
17. INDEPENDENT STUDY 17
Also on this slide is perhaps the most important piece of data that I uncovered in all
of my research. In the top-left corner is a bar graph displaying the distribution of the
whale sightings off the coast of South Carolina for the given migratory season,
Trackline miles flown, and whales seen/ 1000 Trackline miles flown.
My created statistic of “Whales seen/ 1000 Trackline miles flown” not only gives the
viewer an accurate portrayal of when the whales are here and when they are not, it
also “levels the playing field” and shows whales seen relative to effort. This method
nullifies the argument: “Well we haven’t seen as many whales during November and
April because we haven’t been flying as much”. With my statistic I am comparing
2004- 2005 Right Whale Sigh ngs between the ranges of 32°20’N and 33°N
12 Whales
Sighted
9 Whales
Sighted
8 Whales
Sighted
6 Whales
Sighted
4 Whales
Sighted
3 Whales
Sighted
2 Whales
Sighted
1 Whale
Sighted
2004-2005 Data
Total Whales Sighted: 14
Percentage within Speed Zone: 100%
Percentage outside of Speed Zone: 0%
0
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
Novem
ber
Decem
ber
January
February
M
arch
April
Trackline Miles Flown/1000
Whales Seen 32° 20' to 33°
Whales Seen 32° 20' to 33°/
1000 Trackline Miles
18. INDEPENDENT STUDY 18
Whales seen per 1000 miles flown, and looking at the numbers it is clear that the
whales are not here in large numbers during the months of November and April.
With this piece of data one can determine whale density by month. After creating
similar bar graphs for each migratory season, I created a Long-term average graph
(from 2004-2012) to accurately depict when the whales are and aren’t off the coast
of South Carolina. The said graph is shown below:
Interestingly enough, the long-term average is a bell curve peaking between
February and March, with virtually no whale sightings in the months of November
and absolutely zero in April.
0.00
10.00
20.00
30.00
40.00
50.00
60.00
70.00
80.00
90.00
Trackline Miles Flown/1000
Whales Seen 32° 20' to 33°
Whales Seen 32° 20' to 33°/
1000 Trackline Miles
19. INDEPENDENT STUDY 19
FINDINGS IN THE RANGE OF 32° 20’ N to 33° N
My research clearly indicates that North Atlantic Right Whales are not numerous off
the coast of South Carolina during the regulated months of November and April,
making it un-necessary to regulate ship speed during these months.
Although I acknowledge that my research deals solely with numbers and other
people’s reports, I have speculated as to the reasons of the whales’ absence during
these periods. The North Atlantic Right Whales primarily inhabit the region in the
Northeast known as the gulf of Maine. Each year some of the whales migrate down
the coast to the calving grounds off of Florida. There they give birth and then return
north with their calf.
I believe that the Mid-Atlantic region of the East Coast is regulated too broadly.
From Block Island Sound to Brunswick, Georgia, the coast is subjected to the same
time frame for the speed regulations. In my opinion this is “painting with too wide of
a brush”. I believe that because South Carolina is at the southern end of the
migratory route, the whales arrive late and leave early, making it is unnecessary for
South Carolina to be regulated during the months of November and April.
CHARLESTON HARBOR’S TRACK RECORD WITH RIGHT WHALE STRIKES
20. INDEPENDENT STUDY 20
Some may look at the facts and argue that the regulations enacted in 2008 have
been so successful that there have been no whale strikes off the coast of South
Carolina since. While this is something to be proud of, the port of Charleston has
never had a recorded ship strike on a North Atlantic Right Whale. Ever. In fact no
Right Whales have ever been found dead along the entire coast of South Carolina
due to ship strike. Furthermore, South Carolina is the farthest state from any
confirmed ship strike. Below is a map of North Atlantic Right Whale ship strikes.
Note the ship strike symbols in red.
21. INDEPENDENT STUDY 21
UP NORTH
After examining the area around Charleston Harbor and finding some fairly
significant data I decided to point my research in a new direction- northward to the
ports of: Boston, Portland, Portsmouth, Eastport, Belfast, and Bar Harbor- all ports
that use the Gulf of Maine. As I previously mentioned, the main habitat for the North
Atlantic Right whale is the Gulf of Maine. While this region does have 10-knot speed
regulations like South Carolina, these regulations cover a minimal area rendering
many whales unprotected.
In researching the Gulf of Maine, I searched the Internet and found that I could in
fact download information for the whale sightings in the northeast. I downloaded
the sightings and began by sorting them by Latitude, taking only sightings that fell
between the Latitudes of 40°N and 46°N. Upon completion I plotted these sightings
on an excel scatterplot and once again overlaid them onto a nautical chart. I also
included the three different speed zones in that region to show how many whales
are protected and how many whales are unprotected. Using the SUMIF function for
the throughout the years 2006-2011, I found that in the gulf of Maine region there
are an average of 2126.7 whales seen annually with 38.52% of them sighted outside
of protected speed zones.
Furthermore, 34.97% (an average of 743.7 annually) of whales in the Gulf of Maine
region are seen with no regulations are in effect. This is a stark contrast to South
22. INDEPENDENT STUDY 22
Carolina where there have been 0 whales reported out of the regulated time period
within the last three years.
Below is a chart for 2010, a fairly average year for that region with a total of 1748
sightings with 38.16% of those sightings being outside of the protected speed zones.
Even at first glance it is apparent that there are substantially more whales in that
region than there are in South Carolina and that the percentage of unprotected
whales is also substantially more.
Jan 1-
May 15
Mar 1-
Apr 30
Apr 1-Jul
31
h p://www.charts.noaa.gov/OnLineViewer/13009.shtml
-71 -70 -69 -68 -67 -66 -65
2010NortheastSighngs
AllSighngs:Aerial,Opportunisc,USCG,Shipboard,WhaleWatch,
Acousc,Commercial
23. INDEPENDENT STUDY 23
Upon plotting this data I then asked: well how many ships really skirt the speed
zones to the north rather than staying in the channel all the way out? After reading
up on this I found that most ships leaving the six ports for Canada, Europe, The
Mediterranean, Africa, and India skirt the speed zones and go as fast as they wish
through this whale-rich region. I created graphs for the two regions utilizing AIS
ship movements plots and my whale graph overlay for the year 2010 and they are
shown below. I ask that you take the time to notice the astounding difference in
vessel movement’s per whale seen as you analyze which region is creates a larger
risk for whales:
40
41
42
43
44
45
46
-71 -70 -69 -68 -67 -66 -65
-71.00 -70.50 -70.00 -69.50 -69.00 -68.50 -68.00 -67.50 -67.00Note the large amount of unregulated ship ac vity in this area. In this region an average of 1315.5 ships
leaving the Ports of Boston, Portsmouth, and Portland avoid regulated areas so as to steam at full cruising
speed. In this area 38.5% or an average of 819.7 whales are seen outside of the regulated areas annually.
2010 (AIS) Vessel Traffic with 2010 Whale sigh ngs overlay
and speed zone boundaries
24. INDEPENDENT STUDY 24
Note the large amount of ship activity just to the north of the speed zone. This is an
astounding number of ships that are traveling at full speed in an incredibly whale
rich environment. Also we must take note that over 34% of these whales are seen
when no regulations are in effect.
In South Carolina only 24% of whales are reported outside of the regulated speed
zones under current regulations with 0% of whales reported when the regulations
are not in effect. This means that in the 40-mile band off of Charleston that stretches
from 32° 20’ N to 33° N there is an average of 5.86 whales that are unregulated
annually. If the government is content with the figure 38.52% in the Gulf of Maine,
2010 (AIS) Vessel Traffic with 2010 Whale sigh ngs overlay
and speed zone boundaries
Note the large amount of regulated ship ac vity in this area with very li le whale
ac vity. In this region 100% of ships leaving Charleston Harbor are slowed to 10 knots
un l they reach the 20 mile line. In the 40 nau cal mile stretch around Charleston an
average of 5.86 whales are seen outside of the regulated areas annually.
25. INDEPENDENT STUDY 25
then why would there be a problem dropping the months of November and April
from the regulations? This would raise Charleston’s total unprotected whale
percentage from 30% to 32%.
Over the past eight migratory seasons the data recorded by the aerial surveys shows
that out of the 203 whales seen from 32° 20’ N to 33° N only four were reported in
the months of November and April. Why, then could we not drop those two months
of the regulations and raise our unprotected whale rate by 2% to 32%? This would
aid in commerce while affecting a minute number of whales.
CONCLUSIONS/SOLUTIONS
After studying the of the annual North Atlantic Right Whale reports, I believe that
there is conclusive evidence to state that Right Whale density off the state of South
Carolina is quite small. Furthermore, South Carolina is at the tail end of their
migration south and at the forefront of their migration north. That being said, it is
unreasonable to regulate the entire east coast from Block Island Sound to
Brunswick, Georgia on the same time frame. Clearly there are not a significant
number of whales off the coast of South Carolina during the months of November
and April, therefore I feel that the East Coast regulations should be broken down
into smaller geographic areas.
26. INDEPENDENT STUDY 26
Upon studying this matter I have come up with two solutions to the current law in
South Carolina:
1. Implement mandatory Dynamic Management Areas
a. I have noticed that North Atlantic Right whales are use South
Carolina’s coast quite sporadically, and are by no means seen here
every day of the six month regulated period. I feel that there is no
need for ships to be slowed when no whales are off of our coast. This
being said, I feel that mandatory DMA would be a better alternative to
the current laws. I believe that the government should issue a
mandatory, two-week DMA for a twenty-mile radius around every
sighting off of South Carolina
i. This would protect the whales when they are here, while
allowing ships to travel efficiently when the whales are not
here.
2. My second alternative to the law would be to reduce the regulation period
from six to four months. My research clearly indicates that whale numbers
off the coast of South Carolina are negligible during the months of November
and April. I propose that NOAA reduces the “speed-zone” time to exclude the
months of November and April. Currently we are slowing down ships for a
negligible amount of whales.