We were honored to host a presentation by Dr. Scott Veirs who summarized Orcasound, a project that began as a cooperative effort to listen for the calls, clicks, and whistles of the endangered Southern Resident Killer Whales within the inland marine waters of Washington State. More recently, Orcasound has been building open-source software to make it easier for humans to listen live to the oceans and identify soniferous cetaceans and deleterious noises. The software includes artificial intelligence to help humans detect more whale sounds, including at frequencies above human hearing. Finally, Dr. Veirs discussed how the range of these salmon-seeking orcas extends as far south as Monterey Bay and he opened a discussion of how Orcasound's conservation technology could be deployed in northern California.
This webinar is offered for free to the public. A suggested donation of $10 per participant/viewer is encouraged and appreciated. Donations help cover webinar costs and support our education and cetacean research grant programs. Click here to donate.
ABOUT SCOTT VEIRS
Dr. Scott Veirs is trained as an environmental scientist (B.S., Stanford Earth Systems, 1992) and an oceanographer (PhD., University of Washington, 2003). In addition to his research, teaching, and coordination of the Orcasound hydrophone Network and open-source project, Dr. Veirs serves as Chair of the Marine Mammal Work Group within the Puget Sound Ecosystem Monitoring Program (PSEMP). He is based in Seattle and enjoys sailing and backpacking with his wife and teenage son and daughter.
