Image analysis algorithms for automating the post-processing of cetacean sighting surveys data

Accurate measurements of the locations of surfacing cetaceans (whales, dolphins and porpoises) are important data for behavioral studies and sightings surveys. A system for tracking cetacean movements based on photogrammetric analysis of digital images, presented in the paper by R. Leaper and J. Gordon (2001), has been developed and tested at sea. This paper presents and discusses the use of image processing tools to partially automate the processing of the digital images thus produced, in order to obtain estimates of both the bearing and range of the sightings. It is hoped that these tools will be enablers of wider scale surveys, and they are expected to be deployed and field tested during a trial in the spring/summer 2005.