Automated detection of sperm whale sounds as a function of abrupt changes in sound intensity

An algorithm designed to detect abrupt changes in sound intensity was developed and used to identify and count sperm whale vocalizations and to measure boat noise. The algorithm is a Matlab routine that counts the number of occurrences for which the change in intensity level exceeds a threshold. The...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America 2003-04, Vol.113 (4_Supplement), p.2307-2307
Main Authors: Walker, Christopher D., Rayborn, Grayson H., Brack, Benjamin A., Kuczaj, Stan A., Paulos, Robin L.
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Marine
Physeter catodon
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Summary:An algorithm designed to detect abrupt changes in sound intensity was developed and used to identify and count sperm whale vocalizations and to measure boat noise. The algorithm is a Matlab routine that counts the number of occurrences for which the change in intensity level exceeds a threshold. The algorithm also permits the setting of a ‘‘dead time’’ interval to prevent the counting of multiple pulses within a single sperm whale click. This algorithm was used to analyze digitally sampled recordings of ambient noise obtained from the Gulf of Mexico using near bottom mounted EARS buoys deployed as part of the Littoral Acoustic Demonstration Center experiment. Because the background in these data varied slowly, the result of the application of the algorithm was automated detection of sperm whale clicks and creaks with results that agreed well with those obtained by trained human listeners. [Research supported by ONR.]
ISSN:0001-4966
1520-8524
DOI:10.1121/1.4780711