Bering-Okhotsk Seal Survey (BOSS) On-Effort Flight Tracks (2012-13)

Aerial surveys were flown during the spring of 2012 and 2013 as part of the Bering Okhotsk Seal Surveys (BOSS) project to gather data on distribution and abundance of ice-associated seals in the eastern Bering Sea. The distributions of these seals are broad and patchy, resulting in surveys that cover large areas and encounter rapidly changing environmental conditions. Surveys were flown using a fixed-wing aircraft with a paired system of digital cameras and thermal imagers operated by observers and mounted in the belly port. Flight tracks were recorded with an attitude and heading reference system (AHRS) that also recorded location information at one second intervals. A secondary flight track was recorded with a GPS which was used to supplement location information when there was a glitch with the AHRS. BOSS on-effort flight tracks were used to calculate total distance and area flown for estimating seal abundance, in addition to georeferencing digital and thermal imagery collected in flight. On-effort flight tracks (survey effort) were initially determined by the observer based on environmental conditions and later refined based on aircraft attitude and imagery review. The spatial data are provided in the geographic (epsg:4326) coordinate reference system.

This geospatial dataset describes BOSS on-effort flight tracks used to calculate the abundance and distribution of ice-associated seals in the eastern Bering Sea.

Richmond, E.L., J.M. London, E.E. Moreland, M.F. Cameron, S.P. Dahle, J.M. Ver Hoef, P. Conn, B. McClintock, J.K. Jansen, K.M. Yano, G.M. Brady and P.L Boveng (2015): Bering-Okhotsk Seal Survey (BOSS) On-Effort Flight Tracks (2012-13). Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. --doi:TBD, contact authors for updated citation details--

While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty.

The data set is in the process of being archived with the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Once the archival process is complete and verified, the data set will be publicly available. Acknowledge NOAA/NMFS/AFSC as the source from which these data were obtained in any publications and/or other representations of these data. Communication and collaboration with dataset authors is strongly encouraged prior to use.

The data set is in the process of being archived with the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Once the archival process is complete and verified, the data set will be publicly available.

The data set is in the process of being archived with the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Once the archival process is complete and verified, the data set will be publicly available.

User must read and fully comprehend the metadata prior to use. Applications or inferences derived from the data should be carefully considered for accuracy. While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. Acknowledge NOAA/NMFS/AFSC or the specified citation as the source from which these data were obtained in any publications and/or other representations of these data. Communication and collaboration with dataset authors is strongly encouraged.

no metadata access constraints

Metadata are subject to revision at any time and information within the metadata record should not be cited without author consent. While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty.

Flight tracks were collected in the field and post-processed to determine accurate survey effort in order to calculate the total distance and area covered. Two sets of flight tracks were collected to ensure location accuracy. Feedback from aerial survey observers informs the evaluation of what is considered to be “on-effort”, in addition to aircraft attitude and imagery review.

data were not automatically processed

IT Security and Contingency Plan for the system establishes procedures and applies to the functions, operations, and resources necessary to recover and restore data as hosted in the Western Regional Support Center in Seattle, Washington, following a disruption.

BOSS on-effort flight tracks were recorded with an AHRS and a secondary flight track was recorded with a GPS that was used to supplement location (lat/long) information when there was a glitch in the AHRS data recording. Supplemental location information was interpolated. Post-processing of BOSS on-effort flight tracks was derived from a combination of inflight observations (based on environmental conditions) and later refined by reviewing aircraft attitude and imagery. Any flight track segments that were determined to be “off-effort” were not used to calculate total distance/area flown for seal abundance estimates and were not included in the database.