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Dataset Overview | National Centers for Environmental Information (NCEI)

Cetacean, sea turtle, and seabird visual observations using line-transect survey methods from ships and aircraft during the Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS) surveys from 2010 to present

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As part of the Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS), the NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC), in collaboration with the Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), conducted seasonal shipboard surveys of the U.S. oceanic waters of the Western North Atlantic out to the Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ) and aerial surveys of U.S. continental shelf waters (up to the 200-m isobath) from 2010 to present. During all cetacean and sea turtle surveys, a two-team independent visual observer approach with distance sampling was used to estimate the detection probabilities, abundance, and characterize spatial distribution of the species or groups of species. For seabird data collected from the ship, a single team using standard, transect-based methodology was utilized. This collection of datasets includes cetacean, sea turtle, and seabird visual observation data and effort points with surveying conditions that can be used in abundance and density modeling per visual line-transect survey protocols. These datasets may also include opportunistic data and photographs of cetaceans and other taxa. Raw and processed files from conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) casts, and expendable bathythermographs (XBT), performed during ship surveys may also be available for some surveys. This collection (AMAPPS) ranges the entirety of the AMAPPS program, which was divided into three main periods: AMAPPS I (2010-2014), AMAPPS II (2015-2019), and AMAPPS III (2020-2024). Datasets will be archived retroactively, starting from 2023. All data can be individually accessed through the Granule Search below.
  • Cite as: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS); NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center Woods Hole Laboratory; NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) (2024). Cetacean, sea turtle, and seabird visual observations using line-transect survey methods from ships and aircraft during the Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS) surveys from 2010 to present. [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/AMAPPS. Accessed [date].
gov.noaa.nodc:AMAPPS
Search Data
  • Granule Search (search)
    Search for data granules belonging to this collection (a granule is the smallest aggregation of data that can be independently described and retrieved).
Distribution Formats
  • CR2
  • CSV
  • Word
  • JPEG
  • MOV
  • MP4
  • NEF
Ordering Instructions Contact NCEI for other distribution options and instructions.
Distributor NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
+1-301-713-3277
ncei.info@noaa.gov
Dataset Point of Contact NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information
ncei.info@noaa.gov
Time Period 2023-02-04 to 2023-04-27
Spatial Bounding Box Coordinates
West: -86.67383
East: -70.48632
South: 23.96743
North: 38.47308
Spatial Coverage Map
General Documentation
Associated Resources
  • Dias, L. A. (2023). AMAPPS Spring 2023 Research Cruise Report. Southeast Fisheries Science Center (U.S.). https://doi.org/10.25923/gtac-4j18
    • https://doi.org/10.25923/gtac-4j18
      As part of the Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS), the Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) conducted shipboard surveys of the U.S. waters of the Western North Atlantic (WNA) from approximately the 200m isobath out to the U.S. Exclusive Economic Zone (EEZ). The survey was conducted between January 23 and April 28, 2023 onboard the NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter, for a total of 44 days at sea split into three survey legs.
  • Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species - Annual Reports
    • https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/resource/publication-database/atlantic-marine-assessment-program-protected-species-annual-reports
      The Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS) is a comprehensive multi-agency research program in the U.S. Atlantic Ocean, from Maine to the Florida Keys. Its aims are to assess the abundance, distribution, ecology, and behavior of marine mammals, sea turtles, and seabirds throughout the U.S. Atlantic and to place them in an ecosystem context. This information can then provide spatially explicit information in a format that can be used when making marine resource management decisions and will provide enhanced data to managers and other users by addressing data gaps that are needed to support conservation initiatives mandated under the Marine Mammal Protection Act, Endangered Species Act, National Environmental Policy Act and Migratory Bird Treaty Act.
  • Collection of AMAPPS Publications
  • Wanninkhof, Rik; Sullivan, Kevin F.; Pierrot, Denis (2023). Partial pressure of carbon dioxide, temperature, salinity and other variables collected from the coastal surface underway observations from NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter in the Gulf of Mexico and North Atlantic Ocean in 2023 (NCEI Accession 0278973). NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://doi.org/10.25921/1yem-b389.
  • NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (OMAO) (2023). Underway biological, chemical, meteorological, navigational, optical, physical, profile, and time series data collected aboard NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter in the Coastal Waters of Gulf of America, Gulf of America and others from 2023-04-03 to 2025-08-18 (NCEI Accession 0282737). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0282737. In NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations. Underway physical, meteorological, chemical, and other data collected aboard numerous ships in the NOAA fleet in seas world-wide since February 2012. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/OMAO-SCS.
  • Allen, Stephen; NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations (2023). Underway meteorological, navigational, physical, profile, and time series data collected aboard NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter in the Gulf of Mexico and North Atlantic Ocean from 2023-03-16 to 2023-04-28 (NCEI Accession 0282738). https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/0282738. In NOAA Office of Marine and Aviation Operations. Underway physical, meteorological, chemical, and other data collected aboard numerous ships in the NOAA fleet in seas world-wide since February 2012. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/OMAO-SCS.
Publication Dates
  • publication: 2024-04-30
Data Presentation Form Digital table - digital representation of facts or figures systematically displayed, especially in columns
Dataset Progress Status Complete - production of the data has been completed
Historical archive - data has been stored in an offline storage facility
Data Update Frequency As needed
Purpose This dataset includes marine mammal visual observation data and effort points with surveying conditions that can be used in abundance and density modeling per visual line-transect survey protocols.
Use Limitations
  • accessLevel: Public
  • Distribution liability: NOAA and NCEI make no warranty, expressed or implied, regarding these data, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. NOAA and NCEI cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in these data. If appropriate, NCEI can only certify that the data it distributes are an authentic copy of the records that were accepted for inclusion in the NCEI archives.
Dataset Citation
  • Cite as: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS); NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center Woods Hole Laboratory; NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) (2024). Cetacean, sea turtle, and seabird visual observations using line-transect survey methods from ships and aircraft during the Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS) surveys from 2010 to present. [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/AMAPPS. Accessed [date].
Cited Authors
Collaborators
Contributors
Resource Providers
Points of Contact
Publishers
Acknowledgments
  • Funding Agency: NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center
  • Funding Agency: NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center
  • Funding Agency: NOAA National Marine Fisheries Service
  • Funding Agency: US Bureau of Ocean Energy Management
  • Funding provided by: U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) through interagency agreements M14PG00005, M19PG00007-P00002 with the U.S. Department of the Commerce (DOC), National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), Northeast Fisheries Science Center (NEFSC), and Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC). U.S. Department of the Navy, Office of the Chief of Naval Operations through Interagency Agreement N689620IP , with the U.S. Department of Commerce, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. This research was carried out [in part] under the auspices of the Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS), a Cooperative Institute of the University of Miami and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, cooperative agreements NA15OAR4320064 and NA20OAR4320472.
Theme keywords NODC DATA TYPES THESAURUS NODC OBSERVATION TYPES THESAURUS WMO_CategoryCode
  • oceanography
Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Science Keywords Provider Keywords
  • ATMOSPHERIC/OCEAN INDICATORS
  • BALEEN WHALES
  • CAMERA
  • ENDANGERED SPECIES
  • INDICATOR SPECIES
  • PHOTOGRAPH
  • POPULATION ABUNDANCE
  • SPECIES ABUNDANCE
  • SPECIES DISTRIBUTION MODELS
  • SPECIES/POPULATION INTERACTIONS
  • TOOTHED WHALES
  • species distribution
Provider Keywords Species Common Name
  • Atlantic spotted dolphin
  • Baleen whales
  • Basking shark
  • Beaked whales
  • Beaked whales of the genus Mesoplodon
  • Blue whale
  • Cetacean (large)
  • Cetacean (small)
  • Clymene dolphin
  • Common bottlenose dolphin
  • Common bottlenose or Atlantic spotted dolphin
  • Common dolphin
  • Cuvier's beaked whale
  • Delphinidae
  • Dolphins of the genus Stenella
  • Dwarf sperm whale
  • False killer whale
  • Fraser's dolphin
  • Gervais' beaked whale
  • Green sea turtle
  • Hammerhead sharks
  • Hardshell sea turtle
  • Humpback whale
  • Loggerhead sea turtle
  • Melon-headed or Pygmy killer or False killer whale
  • Pantropical spotted dolphin
  • Pilot whales
  • Pygmy or Dwarf sperm whale
  • Pygmy sperm whale
  • Risso's dolphin
  • Rorquals (except Humpback whale)
  • Rough-toothed dolphin
  • Sei or Fin or Bryde’s or Rice's whale
  • Shark
  • Sperm whale
  • Striped dolphin
  • Sunfish
  • Toothed whales
  • Whale shark
Provider Keywords Species Scientific Name
  • Balaenoptera
  • Balaenoptera borealis or Balaenoptera physalus or Balaenoptera edeni or Balaenoptera ricei
  • Balaenoptera musculus
  • Caretta caretta
  • Cetacea
  • Cetorhinus maximus
  • Chelonia mydas
  • Cheloniidae
  • Delphinidae
  • Delphinus delphis
  • Globicephala
  • Grampus griseus
  • Kogia
  • Kogia breviceps
  • Kogia sima
  • Lagenodelphis hosei
  • Megaptera novaeangliae
  • Mesoplodon
  • Mesoplodon europaeus
  • Mola mola
  • Mysticeti
  • Odontoceti
  • Peponocephala electra or Feresa attenuata or Pseudorca crassidens
  • Physeter macrocephalus
  • Pseudorca crassidens
  • Rhincodon typus
  • Selachii
  • Sphyrnidae
  • Stenella
  • Stenella attenuata
  • Stenella clymene
  • Stenella coeruleoalba
  • Stenella frontalis
  • Steno bredanensis
  • Tursiops truncatus
  • Tursiops truncatus or Stenella frontalis
  • Ziphiidae
  • Ziphius cavirostris
Data Center keywords NODC COLLECTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS NODC SUBMITTING INSTITUTION NAMES THESAURUS Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords
Platform keywords NODC PLATFORM NAMES THESAURUS Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Platform Keywords ICES/SeaDataNet Ship Codes
Instrument keywords NODC INSTRUMENT TYPES THESAURUS Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Instrument Keywords
Place keywords NODC SEA AREA NAMES THESAURUS Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Location Keywords
Project keywords NODC PROJECT NAMES THESAURUS Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Project Keywords Provider Project Names
  • University of Miami’s Cooperative Institute for Marine and Atmospheric Studies (CIMAS)
Keywords NCEI ACCESSION NUMBER
Keywords Send2NCEI Submission Package ID
  • WC6CRT
Use Constraints
  • Cite as: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA); National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS); NOAA Northeast Fisheries Science Center Woods Hole Laboratory; NOAA Southeast Fisheries Science Center (SEFSC) (2024). Cetacean, sea turtle, and seabird visual observations using line-transect survey methods from ships and aircraft during the Atlantic Marine Assessment Program for Protected Species (AMAPPS) surveys from 2010 to present. [indicate subset used]. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Dataset. https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/archive/accession/AMAPPS. Accessed [date].
  • All marine mammal data and photographs were collected under the National Marine Fisheries Service (NMFS), the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and Endangered Species Act (ESA) permit number: NMFS ESA/MMPA Permit No. 14450 (11 March 2014 to 21 May 2019), 21938 (after 21 May 2019), 779-1633 (18 December 2002 to 11 March 2014). If a photo displaying a marine mammal is used, please include the permit number in the captions and acknowledge NOAA Fisheries.
Data License
Access Constraints
  • Use liability: NOAA and NCEI cannot provide any warranty as to the accuracy, reliability, or completeness of furnished data. Users assume responsibility to determine the usability of these data. The user is responsible for the results of any application of this data for other than its intended purpose.
Fees
  • In most cases, electronic downloads of the data are free. However, fees may apply for custom orders, data certifications, copies of analog materials, and data distribution on physical media.
Lineage information for: series
Processing Steps
  • 2024-04-30T14:57:56Z - NCEI Accession 0290563 v1.1 was published.
Acquisition Information (collection)
Instrument
  • BIG EYE BINOCULARS
  • Distance Sampling
  • line transect sampling
  • photograph
  • video camera
  • visual estimate
  • visual observation
Platform
  • NOAA Ship Gordon Gunter
Last Modified: 2025-09-26T20:11:10Z
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