Mark Stoermer

Web3D in ocean science learning environments: virtual big beef creek

The Virtual Reality Modeling Language (VRML), Java 3D software development packages, and World Wide Web (the Web) offer great potential for delivering three-dimensional, collaborative virtual environments to broad, on-line audiences. These capabilities have significant potential in ocean sciences, so a visualization environment was developed to explore these possibilities. The University of Washingtons Virtual Big Beef Creek (VBBC) project has been continuously refined since its initial implementation in April 1999. VBBC affords users the ability to navigate through a data-rich representation of a physical world estuary on Washington States Olympic Peninsula. One important project goal is to give users a better sense of the overall watershed before they venture out to experience it in person. A second significant goal is to provide a single on-line repository for geo-referenced data obtained through fieldwork (both quantitative and qualitative). The research team has gained insight into application improvements through the participation of Ocean Sciences graduate students, video game enthusiasts, and the general public. In this paper, research challenges, project successes, and project shortcomings are discussed that may inform the larger Web3D community.

Detection Abilities and Signal Characteristics of Echolocating False Killer Whales (Pseudorca crassidens)

False killer whales (Pseudorca crassidens) are deep-diving, pelagic animals that inhabit tropical and temperate waters of the Pacific and Atlantic Oceans. Highly social animals, they have been seen in herds of more than 100 individuals. They feed on squid and large fish.

Temporal Order Discrimination Within the Dolphin Critical Interval

Human psychophysical experiments (Patterson and Green 1970, Ronken 1970, and others) have shown that human listeners can detect the difference between unequal amplitude click-pairs that arises from the order of the two clicks. The clicks of each pair are separated by a few milliseconds. Standard Fourier analysis indicates that this “time reversal” has no effect on the power spectrum. The apparent conclusion to be drawn is that human audition is phase sensitive, since only the phase spectrum can be different. As with many mathematical models, the conclusion is only as good as the assumptions upon which the model is based. The assumption which is in conflict here is that the waveform is known for all time, both past and future, since Fourier analysis employs integration with unbounded upper and lower time limits. The inability of (biological) systems to predict exactly ALL future details of a stimulus (or for that matter, to store ALL past details) inevitably leads to alternate mathematical formulations with less restrictive assumptions.

Underwater audiogram of a Hawaiian monk seal (Monachusschauinslandi)

Underwater audiograms are available for a few pinnipeds from the families otariidae and phocidae, but little is known about hearing abilities in the monachid seals. A young male Hawaiian monk seal (Monachus schauinslandi) was trained at Sea Life Park on Oahu, Hawaii for an underwater hearing test using a go/no‐go response paradigm. Over a 6‐month period, auditory thresholds from 2 to 48 kHz were measured using an up/down staircase psychometric technique. The resulting audiogram shows a somewhat narrower hearing range than for other pinnipeds. The monk seal’s hearing was most sensitive (20 dB above maximum sensitivity) between 12 and 28 kHz. Below 8 kHz, the Hawaiian monk seal’s hearing was less sensitive than other pinnipeds measured. High‐frequency sensitivity dropped off sharply above 30 kHz, as has been reported for other otariids, Callorhinus and Zalophus. Phocid seals, Phoca hispida, P. groenlandica, and P. vitulina, have a broader hearing range with the upper limit near 60 kHz.

COVE: A Visual Environment for Multidisciplinary Ocean Science Collaboration

Advances in cyber infrastructure for virtual observatories are poised to allow scientists from disparate fields to conduct experiments together, monitor large collections of instruments, and explore extensive archives of observed and simulated data. Such systems, however, focus on the ‘plumbing’ and frequently ignore the critical importance of rich, 3D interactive visualization, asset management, and collaboration necessary for interdisciplinary communication. The NSF Ocean Observatories Initiative (OOI) is typical of modern observatory-oriented projects–its goal is to transform ocean science from an expeditionary science to an observatory science. This paper explores the design of an interactive tool to support this new way of conducting ocean science. Working directly with teams of scientists, we designed and deployed the Collaborative Ocean Visualization Environment (COVE). We then carried out three field evaluations of COVE: a multi-month deployment with the scientists and engineers of an observatory design team and two deployments at sea as the primary planning and collaboration platform on expeditionary cruises to map observatory sites and study geothermal vents.

COVE: a visual environment for ocean observatory design

Physical, chemical, and biological ocean processes play a crucial role in determining Earths environment. Unfortunately, our knowledge of these processes is limited because oceanography is carried out today largely the way it was a century ago: as expeditionary science, going to sea in ships and measuring a relatively small number of parameters (e.g., temperature, salinity, and pressure) as time and budget allow. The NSF Ocean Observatories Initiative is a US

Designing an offshore geophysical network in the Pacific Northwest for earthquake and tsunami early warning and hazard research

330 million project that will help transform oceanography from a data-poor to a data-rich science. A cornerstone of this project is the deep water Regional Scale Nodes (RSN) that will be installed off the coasts of Washington and Oregon. The RSN will include 1500 km of fiber optic cable providing power and bandwidth to the seafloor and throughout the water column. Thousands of sensors will be deployed to stream data and imagery to shore, where they will be available in real time for ocean scientists and the public at large. The design of the RSN is a complex undertaking, requiring a combination of many different interactive tools and areas of visualization: geographic visualization to see the available seafloor bathymetry, scientific visualization to examine existing geospatially located datasets, layout tools to place the sensors, and collaborative tools to communicate across the team during the design. COVE, the Common Observatory Visualization Environment, is a visualization environment designed to meet all these needs. COVE has been built by computer scientists working closely with the engineering and scientific teams who will build and use the RSN. This paper discusses the data and activities of cabled observatory design, the design of COVE, and results from its use across the team.

Acoustic monitoring of marine life with a fiber‐optic, ocean‐observing network.

Every few hundred years, the Cascadia subduction zone off the coast of the Pacific Northwest hosts devastating earthquakes, and there is a growing awareness of the need to be prepared for these events. An offshore cabled observatory extending the length of the Cascadia subduction zone would enhance the performance of the earthquake and tsunami early warning systems, would enable real time monitoring and predictions of the incoming tsunami, and would contribute substantially to scientific research aimed at mitigating the hazard. The University of Washington has recently initiated a study to develop a conceptual design for the U.S. portion of an offshore observatory for earthquake and tsunami early warning and research. This paper presents the motivation for this work and plans for the study.

Endeavour Segment of the Juan de Fuca Ridge: One of the Most Remarkable Places on Earth

The application of fiber‐optic, high‐bandwidth transmission technology is revolutionizing ocean observing by enabling the synoptic acquisition of high‐density data streams, including acoustic measurements. A multi‐disciplinary collaboration of geophysicists, acousticians, and biologists is developing acoustic observation systems within a cabled observing network being deployed off Washington and Oregon for the next 25 years. This system will include various sensors, including echosounders to detect zooplankton and fish, broadband hydrophone clusters for detecting various marine animals in biologically relevant areas, and low‐frequency line arrays to locate and track vocalizing baleen whales across the Juan de Fuca plate region. These capabilities will enable monitoring of acoustically active individuals engaged in feeding, migrating, socializing, and other aspects of natural history. In combination with other tools (e.g., animal tags and remote sensors), these rich data streams will be integrated to monit...