ScanEagles to Search for Cetaceans in Alaska
Photo: NOAA.
Researchers are using unmanned aircraft to detect and monitor marine mammals such as whales and to predict ice formation.
The UAS Program Office of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has teamed with the National Marine Fisheries Service’s Office of Science and Technology and National Marine Mammal Laboratory; the Office of Naval Research; and the Bureau of Ocean Energy for the work, which is expected to kick off as early as this week from Barrow, Alaska.
The project will collect imagery from manned and unmanned aircraft and use software to automatically detect cetaceans in the imagery, and try to assess how many there are.
The UAS work will be handled by two Insitu ScanEagles, flying beyond visual line of sight within an 80-mile radius offshore of Barrow. The ScanEagles will operate until Sept. 7.
