Whale Seeker, Montreal, Quebec, Canada.
Centre for Earth Observation Science, Department of Environment and Geography, University of Manitoba, Winnipeg, Manitoba, Canada.
PLoS One. 2021 Aug 4;16(8):e0254380. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0254380. eCollection 2021.
Emergence of new technologies in remote sensing give scientists a new way to detect and monitor wildlife populations. In this study we assess the ability to detect and classify two emblematic Arctic cetaceans, the narwhal (Monodon monoceros) and beluga whale (Delphinapterus leucas), using very high-resolution (VHR) satellite imagery. We analyzed 12 VHR images acquired in August 2017 and 2019, collected by the WorldView-3 satellite, which has a maximum resolution of 0.31 m per pixel. The images covered Clearwater Fiord (138.8 km2), an area on eastern Baffin Island, Canada where belugas spend a large part of the summer, and Tremblay Sound (127.0 km2), a narrow water body located on the north shore of Baffin Island that is used by narwhals during the open water season. A total of 292 beluga whales and 109 narwhals were detected in the images. This study contributes to our understanding of Arctic cetacean distribution and highlights the capabilities of using satellite imagery to detect marine mammals.
新技术在遥感领域的出现为科学家提供了一种新的方法来检测和监测野生动物种群。在这项研究中，我们评估了使用超高分辨率（VHR）卫星图像检测和分类两种具有代表性的北极鲸类动物——独角鲸（Monodon monoceros）和白鲸（Delphinapterus leucas）的能力。我们分析了 2017 年和 2019 年 8 月由 WorldView-3 卫星采集的 12 张 VHR 图像，该卫星的最大分辨率为每个像素 0.31 米。这些图像覆盖了加拿大巴芬岛东部的克利尔沃特湾（138.8 平方公里），白鲸在那里度过了大部分夏季，以及特雷布莱湾（127.0 平方公里），这是巴芬岛北岸的一个狭窄水体，在开阔水域季节被独角鲸使用。在图像中总共检测到 292 头白鲸和 109 头独角鲸。这项研究有助于我们了解北极鲸类动物的分布情况，并强调了利用卫星图像来检测海洋哺乳动物的能力。
