Chukchi and East Siberian Surveys (ChESS): Joint U.S.-Russian Aerial Surveys for Ice-Associated Seals and Polar Bears, 2016

The Chukchi and East Siberian Surveys (ChESS) were a joint U.S.-Russian effort to enumerate ice-associated seals and polar bears in the Chukchi and East Siberian seas. ChESS is a component of the Loss of Sea Ice (LOSI) initiative, which is a multi-disciplinary effort led by the Habitat and Ecological Processes Research (HEPR) Program at NOAA Fisheries’ Alaska Fisheries Science Center.

The focus of this project was to provide baseline distribution and abundance data for breeding populations of bearded and ringed seals in the Chukchi Sea and to provide additional polar bear population estimates. Russian colleagues conducted aerial surveys in the western Chukchi and east Siberian seas while U.S. colleagues conducted surveys in the eastern Chukchi Sea. These surveys were designed to occur concurrently using similar methodology.

Bearded and ringed seals are key components of arctic marine ecosystems and important subsistence resources for northern coastal Alaska Native communities. Although these seals are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and ringed seals are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), no current comprehensive abundance estimates are available for either of the species. Obtaining reliable abundance estimates for ice-associated seals is vital for developing sound plans for management, conservation, and responses to potential environmental impacts of oil and gas activities and climate change. The Chukchi and East Siberian Surveys (ChESS) project addresses the most critical need for fundamental assessment data on ice-associated seals (also known as ice seals) through a cooperative effort with Russian researchers. The surveys will provide the first reliable abundance estimates of ringed and bearded seals throughout the Chukchi Sea and the first estimates in U.S. waters since 2000 and will help to identify and define critical habitat for ringed seals.

The best way to estimate the abundances of ice seals is to conduct aerial photographic and sightings surveys during the reproductive and molting period when the greatest proportions of the populations are hauled out on the ice and are available to be seen. The distributions of these seals are broad and patchy and so surveys must cover large areas. Similarly, the extent, locations, and conditions of the sea ice habitat change so rapidly that any surveys must be conducted in a relatively short period of time. The expense and logistic complexity of these surveys have been the primary impediments to acquisition of comprehensive and reliable estimates. In order to maximize the information gained from this effort, a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is being developed to expand on these surveys to also collect distribution and abundance data for polar bears.

Moreland, E.E, M.F. Cameron, P.B. Conn, P.L. Boveng, E.L. Richmond, G.M. Brady, C.L. Christman, and S.P. Dahle. 201x. Chukchi and East Siberian Surveys (ChESS): joint U.S.-Russian aerial surveys for ice-associated seals and polar bears, 2016. Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. --doi:TBD, contact authors for updated citation details--

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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.

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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.

Detection rates were determined by manually reviewing 10,552 color images for the presence of seals and polar bears. All color images have paired thermal images of the same footprint. Image pairs containing manually detected animals from this sample of color images served as a test set for the automated thermal processing software. The paired thermal images were processed using Skeyes software and the portion of resighted individuals determined the detection rate.

Eighteen of 23 bear trials were detected by Skeyes, indicating a detection rate of 78%. Seal detection was higher at 91% with 161 of the 176 manual detections identified by Skeyes.

Additionally, seal detection consistency across the thermal ground swath was confirmed using DISTANCE analysis of hot spots from survey center-line.

File name accuracy (time, camera position, flight info) , duplicates marked, species classification rates modeled.

data are 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.

Hot spots that may be seals were detected in thermal image files using custom software (Skeyes 2016 R73, installers 49 and 79) which identifies and catalogs hot spots based on an outlier algorithm and additional criteria regarding the peak of temperature data across a hot spot (amplitude, slope, and second derivative) and the area of a hot spot. These were then manually reviewed and classified using the paired color imagery.