EBS beluga aerial survey data_1992-2000.xlsx

Indicates the type of data collected. Data types include: auto entries, sightings by left or right and primary or non-primary observers, beginning or end of transect, weather updates, altitude, comments, and crew.

1 = beluga sighting made by the left primary observer.

2 = beluga sighting made a non-primary observer. Used in 1993.

3 = beluga sighting made by the right primary observer.

4 = beluga sighting made by a non-primary observer. Used in 1999 and 2000.

5 = beginning of transect effort. 5 and I mark the beginning of transect effort and always occur together.

6 = end of transect effort.

7 = update to one of the weather fields (cloud cover, sea state, glare, quality).

8 = altitude entry.

9 = record where notes were entered into the comments field.

C = record where the initials of the survey team (crew) were entered into the comments field.

I = Indicates the beginning of transect effort. 5 and I mark the beginning of transect effort and always occur together.

Unique whole number per survey season, beginning with 1 and numbering sequentially throughout each period of surveys. In 1992, each month of surveys: May, June, and September, start at the number 1. 1993, 1994, and 1999 start at 1 and run for the entire season each year. In 1995, each period of June surveys: June 5-8 and June 20-22 start at the number 1. In 2000, data were originally in separate left and right observer files; RECORDNUM starts at 1 for each left and right file and each runs sequentially through the season. When there are reasons that the TIME field cannot be used to sort records oldest to newest (see TIME Attribute below), RECORDNUM can be used to sort events in the order that they were recorded during the survey within each survey period as outlined above.

Date of survey flight.

Time that entry was logged in data. Some entries in 1992 and 1993 are blank, so TIME cannot be used to sort data sequentially. To sort data sequentially for these years, sort by RECORDNUM (see RECORDNUM Attribute for details).

Latitude of aircraft in degrees decimal minutes.

Longitude of aircraft in degrees decimal minutes.

The study area where survey effort was conducted. This field was added in June 2022 because although these surveys were generally for belugas in Norton Sound, the survey conducted on 5 June 1995 also included survey effort in Bristol Bay and up the coast to Norton Sound.

Altitude of aircraft in feet above sea level. Not collected in 1992 or 1993.

Airspeed in knots. Not recorded in 1992, 1993.

Unique number assigned to each observer sighting per flight; numbers were assigned in sequential order as sightings were recorded per flight. Not recorded in 1992 or 1993. This field was used for record keeping during the surveys and edited post-flight by the survey team. This field should not be used for sorting or analyzing data.

Total number of belugas counted in the sighting group. An entry of “0” indicates the record is not a sighting record.

Zone that a sighting was located in. Offshore transects on each side of the aircraft were divided into seven zones; each whale sighting was recorded in one of the zones. Inclinometers were used to delineate the inner and outer bounds of transects (14-51 deg) and zones (where 0 deg would be directly underneath the plane and 90 deg would be the horizon). Zones were recorded for primary (RECORDTYPE 1 and 3) and some non-primary (RECORDTYPE 2 and 4) records. Not used in 1992.

0 = less than 14 deg

1 = 14 to 21 deg

2 = 21 to 27 deg

3 = 27 to 33 deg

4 = 33 to 40 deg

5 = 40 to 45 deg

6 = 45 to 51 deg

Altitude of aircraft in feet above sea level. Not collected in 1992 or 1993.

Initials of the sighted species scientific name.

DL = beluga whale

OR = walrus

Initials of the observer who first observed a sighting. Not recorded in 1992 or 1993. The International Whaling Commission report, Lowry, L.F., D.P. DeMaster, K.J. Frost. 1999. Alaska Beluga Whale Committee surveys of beluga whales in the Eastern Bering Sea, 1992-1995. Rep. Int. Whal. Commn. SC/51/SM34.€ documents that primary observers during May 1992 surveys were Kathy Frost and Lloyd Lowry, (Frost reported in June 2022 that she was the right observer and Lowry was the left observer); primary observers during June and September 1992 were Lloyd Lowry and Robert Nelson; and primary observers during June 1993 were Kathy Frost and Robert Nelson.

AB = unknown

D or DD = Doug DeMaster

DB = Debbie Blaesing

L or LL = Lloyd Lowry

N or RN = Robert Nelson

RA = Robyn Angliss

SM = Sue Moore

In 1995, Debbie Blaesing was the left primary observer with RECORDTYPE 1 and Lloyd Lowry was the right primary observer with RECORDTYPE 3; however there are two records with SOBSERVER Lowry as RECORDTYPE 1, which would be a left sighting. It is likely this is a data entry mistake, though it is unknown whether SOBSERVER should have been Blaesing, or whether RECORDTYPE should have been 3. In 2000, Robyn Angliss is a primary observer, RECORDTYPE 3; however, there is one sighting by Angliss that is recorded as RECORDTYPE 4, which indicates a non-primary observer sighting. The angle zone is a 3, which means the sighting fell within the range that observers were allowed to record sightings. It is likely this is a data entry mistake, though it is unknown whether a non-primary observer should have been entered into SOBSERVER or whether RECORDTYPE should have been 3.

Percentage of cloud cover within the survey area. One value was recorded that included cloud cover on both sides of the aircraft. Not recorded in 1992 or 1993. Entries of “O” and “OO” were also recorded. It is unclear what these mean; it is likely they are data recording mistakes.

Observed sea state using the Beaufort Wind Force classification system. Not recorded in 1992.

Sun reflection on the water, obstructing at least some of the left observers field of view. Not recorded in 1992 or 1993.

Sun reflection on the water, obstructing at least some of the center observers field of view. Recorded in 1995.

Sun reflection on the water, obstructing at least some of the right observers field of view. Not recorded in 1992 or 1993.

0, N, and E = No glare obstructing the observer's field of view; 1 and G = Little or no glare obstructing the observer's field of view; 2 = Some glare obstructing the observer's field of view; 3 = Bad glare obstructing the observer's field of view; Y = Glare obstructing the observer's field of view.

Quality of sighting conditions for left observer. Not recorded in 1993. E=excellent, G=good, F=Fair, P=poor. Entries of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 were also recorded. The definition of these values are unknown.

Quality of sighting conditions for center observer. Not recorded in 1993. E=excellent, G=good, F=Fair, P=poor. Entries of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 were also recorded. The definition of these values are unknown.

Quality of sighting conditions for right observer. Not recorded in 1993. E = excellent, G = good, F = Fair, P = poor. Entries of 0, 1, 2, 3, and 4 were also recorded. The definition of these values are unknown.

Number or letter used to identify a transect line. Transect numbers and their locations vary each year.

Additional comments that were recorded. Windspeed came from the aircraft navigation system. Ice coverage (%), when present, was reported by observers and any changes were recorded.

Date of the survey flight in this format: YYYYMMDD, e.g., 19920527.