Exceptional number of grey whale calves

National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration scientists involved in an aerial survey of the Beaufort and Chukchi seas have reported an exceptional number of grey whale calves so far this year, NOAA says.

“More than 50 calves have been sighted in just the first month of the survey,” NOAA said in an Aug. 2 news release. “Even though some of the calves are undoubtedly repeat sightings, the total number is far higher than normal.”

The survey, which started around the beginning of July, is part of a multi-year NOAA program called the Aerial Surveys of Arctic Marine Mammals, or ASAMM. With flights from Barrow and Deadhorse, the survey covers a massive area of the two Arctic seas, NOAA says. The goal of the program, funded by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, is to document the distribution and relative abundance of marine mammals including bowhead, gray, right, fin and beluga whales in areas of potential oil and gas exploration, development and production in the Alaska Arctic.

This year, in addition to grey whales, the scientist have observed bowhead whales in both the Chukchi and Beaufort seas; large groups of beluga whales in several areas; one minke whale near Cape Lisburne; and one feeding humpback whale near Wainwright, NOAA says.

The survey team also helped a team from the U.S. Geological Survey to find large groups of walrus on ice for a USGS walrus satellite tagging project. The survey team is also providing the National Weather Service Ice Desk and the U.S. Coast Guard geo-referenced photographs of sea ice.

The ASAMM team anticipates continuing to conduct flights almost daily through October, weather permitting. Despite the varying character of the Arctic weather, with episodes of fog and low cloud, the team has succeeded in collecting some excellent data this year, NOAA says.

—Alan Bailey