![]() “In those days, almost every animal contact was brand-new exploration,” he said in a 2000 interview. Watkins and his colleagues would chase aquatic sounds across the globe, from the waters of Alaska to Antarctica. His “rowboat recorder” allowed researchers to approach and record marine life from small boats, which was much less disruptive to animals’ natural behaviors. Navy, Watkins shrank and adapted these technologies. Hydrophones and amplifiers were large and not designed for use at sea. The first recording of any marine mammal - a beluga whale, in 1949 - was made by Bill Schevill using a dictaphone, a cousin of Edison’s phonograph. He came to marine mammal science indirectly when, in 1958, WHOI hired him to build tape recorders that could withstand conditions on boats.īack then, underwater recording was a clunky business. By then, he could speak more than 30 African languages but had never used his ear for speech to interpret the otherworldly voices of whales, dolphins and seals. After studying anthropology in the U.S., he set up a radio station in Liberia. Raised by Christian missionary parents, Watkins grew up in Guinea, West Africa (called French Guinea at the time). In short, they opened human ears to the oceans. Over a 40-year career at WHOI, he and his mentor and research partner, biologist Bill Schevill, captured the first recordings (known as “vouchers” to scientists) of dozens of species. camera icon © COURTESY OF THE WOODS HOLE OCEANOGRAPHIC INSTITUTIONĪ pioneer in the field of bioacoustics, Bill Watkins made many of the recordings with hydrophones - underwater microphones - he built himself. This data is a boon for researchers studying marine mammals, but the archive could also provide clues about the state of the world’s oceans, which grow louder every year. Launched over the summer, the interface allows scientists and casual listeners to sample around 16,000 clips (including dozens of “best of” cuts) and 1,800 complete master tapes. Though transfer of the materials to the museum isn’t yet complete, much of the content is now freely available through a website developed by Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution. Collected over seven decades, the archive was acquired in 2015 by the New Bedford Whaling Museum, which is located within the New Bedford Whaling National Historical Park in Massachusetts. Watkins Collection of Marine Mammal Sound Recordings and Data, the largest store of underwater audio recordings ever compiled. Thousands of hours of these sounds are contained in the William A. camera icon © ANTONY SOUTER/ALAMY STOCK PHOTO National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST) will also be discussed, along with current efforts towards eventually becoming a NIST Designated Institute (DI) for underwater sound.Percy Elton Cowen’s painting of a sperm whale upsetting a whaling boat is part of the collection at the New Bedford Whaling Museum. The USRD recent ISO 17025 accreditation by the National Voluntary Laboratory Accreditation Program (NVLAP), operated by the U.S. The presentation will cover facilities and measurement capabilities. activity that runs an underwater transducer standard lease program which develops, manufactures and leases underwater standards to national and international underwater acoustic communities. To support these critical roles, the USRD maintains several world-class facilities, including the Acoustic Pressure Tank Facility (APTF), the Open Tank Facility (OTF), the Low Frequency (LOFAC) and Leesburg Facility (LEFAC). Navy’s primary activity for underwater acoustic calibration, test and evaluation measurements for the full spectrum of underwater systems employed by the U.S Navy, and as well provides acoustic transducer calibration services and evaluations of sonar transducers to private industry, universities and international navies. Lecture : OVERVIEW OF THE UNDERWATER SOUND REFERENCE DIVISION FACILITIES AND CALIBRATION CAPABILITIES Ībstract: The Underwater Sound Reference Division Newport (USRD) was established in Orlando, Florida at the beginning of World War II as the Underwater Sound Reference Laboratory to perform underwater acoustic measurements in support of the United States Navy.Organiser(s) : Robinson Stephen, Humphrey Victor, Linné Markus, Évora Victor Underwater acoustic calibration, testing, facilities and standards
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