Selected sample problem for ESME

Site:

Southern California Bight,

I nominate using approximate boundaries of 32.0-34.5 degrees N by 117.0-121.0 degrees W. If that proves too large, feel free to nominate an appropriate subregion.

Species of Interest:

Whale(s): blue (Balaenoptera musculus) and gray (Eschrictius robustus)

Dolphins: bottlenose (Tursiops truncatus/gilli)

Pinniped: Cal sea lion (Zalophus californianus)*

(* I thought about using elephant seals, for which we have as good or better abundance and dive data, and some hearing data, but elephant seals are not as representative of the 'average pinniped' as Cal sea lions and therefore might not be the best ear model to test).

Sound source(s):

We agreed on two sample sources, both to be treated as omnidirectional point sources, with the following characteristics:

Center Frequencies: 400 and 3500 Hz

Signal Type: Linear FM Sweep

Bandwidth: 10% of center frequency (or 380-420 Hz and 3325-3675 Hz, respectively)

Signal Duration: 2 seconds for the 3500 Hz signal and an equal time-bandwidth product for the 400 Hz signal (i.e. duration = 17.5 sec)

Source Level: 230 dB re 1 microPascal at 1 meter

Source Depth: 7 meters for the 3500 Hz signal; midwater for the 400 Hz signal (e.g. 100 m if water depth is 200 m)