gov.noaa.nmfs.inport:46153 eng UTF8 dataset CSV Files Alaska Fisheries Science Center 7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Building 4 Seattle WA 98115 USA https://www.afsc.noaa.gov WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link Website Website for this organization information 0700-1700 Pacific Time resourceProvider Koslovsky, Stacie 206-526-6433 7600 Sand Point Way NE Seattle WA 98115-6349 stacie.koslovsky@noaa.gov pointOfContact 2026-03-04T19:17:17 ISO 19115-2 Geographic Information - Metadata Part 2 Extensions for imagery and gridded data ISO 19115-2:2009(E) Chukchi and East Siberian Surveys (ChESS): Joint U.S.-Russian Aerial Surveys for Ice-Associated Seals and Polar Bears, 2016 ChESS 2016 creation 2019 revision publication NOAA/NMFS/EDM 46153 https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/46153 WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link Full Metadata Record View the complete metadata record on InPort for more information about this dataset. information Alaska Fisheries Science Center (206) 526-4000 (206) 526-4004 7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Building 4 Seattle WA 98115 USA afsc.webmaster@noaa.gov https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/about/alaska-fisheries-science-center WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link Alaska Fisheries Science Center Website AKFSC Home Page information 0700-1700 Pacific Time originator tableDigital Moreland, E.E, M.F. Cameron, P.B. Conn, P.L. Boveng, E.L. Richmond, G.M. Brady, C.L. Christman, and S.P. Dahle. 201x. Chukchi and East Siberian Surveys (ChESS): joint U.S.-Russian aerial surveys for ice-associated seals and polar bears, 2016. Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. --doi:TBD, contact authors for updated citation details-- The Chukchi and East Siberian Surveys (ChESS) were a joint U.S.-Russian effort to enumerate ice-associated seals and polar bears in the Chukchi and East Siberian seas. ChESS is a component of the Loss of Sea Ice (LOSI) initiative, which is a multi-disciplinary effort led by the Habitat and Ecological Processes Research (HEPR) Program at NOAA Fisheries’ Alaska Fisheries Science Center. The focus of this project was to provide baseline distribution and abundance data for breeding populations of bearded and ringed seals in the Chukchi Sea and to provide additional polar bear population estimates. Russian colleagues conducted aerial surveys in the western Chukchi and east Siberian seas while U.S. colleagues conducted surveys in the eastern Chukchi Sea. These surveys were designed to occur concurrently using similar methodology. Bearded and ringed seals are key components of arctic marine ecosystems and important subsistence resources for northern coastal Alaska Native communities. Although these seals are protected under the Marine Mammal Protection Act (MMPA) and ringed seals are listed as threatened under the Endangered Species Act (ESA), no current comprehensive abundance estimates are available for either of the species. Obtaining reliable abundance estimates for ice-associated seals is vital for developing sound plans for management, conservation, and responses to potential environmental impacts of oil and gas activities and climate change. The Chukchi and East Siberian Surveys (ChESS) project addresses the most critical need for fundamental assessment data on ice-associated seals (also known as ice seals) through a cooperative effort with Russian researchers. The surveys will provide the first reliable abundance estimates of ringed and bearded seals throughout the Chukchi Sea and the first estimates in U.S. waters since 2000 and will help to identify and define critical habitat for ringed seals. The best way to estimate the abundances of ice seals is to conduct aerial photographic and sightings surveys during the reproductive and molting period when the greatest proportions of the populations are hauled out on the ice and are available to be seen. The distributions of these seals are broad and patchy and so surveys must cover large areas. Similarly, the extent, locations, and conditions of the sea ice habitat change so rapidly that any surveys must be conducted in a relatively short period of time. The expense and logistic complexity of these surveys have been the primary impediments to acquisition of comprehensive and reliable estimates. In order to maximize the information gained from this effort, a cooperative agreement with the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service is being developed to expand on these surveys to also collect distribution and abundance data for polar bears. Moreland, E.E., M.F. Cameron, P.B. Conn, P.L. Boveng, E.L. Richmond, G.M. Brady, C.L. Christman, and S.P. Dahle. 201x. Chukchi and East Siberian Surveys (ChESS): joint U.S.-Russian aerial surveys for ice-associated seals and polar bears, 2016. Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration. --doi:TBD, contact authors for updated citation details-- underDevelopment Cameron, Mike michael.cameron@noaa.gov pointOfContact Koslovsky, Stacie 206-526-6433 7600 Sand Point Way NE Seattle WA 98115-6349 stacie.koslovsky@noaa.gov custodian notPlanned https://access.afsc.noaa.gov/pubs/posters/pdfs/pMoreland05_chess-surveys-seals-bears.pdf Poster presentation describing survey objectives and methods. PDF Bearded Seal Polar Bear Ringed Seal theme Integrated Taxonomic Information systems (ITIS) Alaska Chukchi Sea East Siberian Sea place Geographic Names Information System DOC/NOAA/NMFS/AFSC > Alaska Fisheries Science Center, National Marine Fisheries Service, NOAA, U.S. Department of Commerce dataCentre Global Change Master Directory (GCMD) Data Center Keywords 2017-04-24 publication 8.5 Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA) https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD%2BKeywords GCMD Keyword Forum Page Global Change Master Directory (GCMD). 2025. GCMD Keywords, Version 22. Greenbelt, MD: Earth Science Data and Information System, Earth Science Projects Division, Goddard Space Flight Center (GSFC), National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA). URL (GCMD Keyword Forum Page): https://forum.earthdata.nasa.gov/app.php/tag/GCMD+Keywords information custodian 2015-2016 Chukchi and East Siberian Surveys (ChESS) project InPort otherRestrictions Cite As: Alaska Fisheries Science Center, [Date of Access]: Chukchi and East Siberian Surveys (ChESS): Joint U.S.-Russian Aerial Surveys for Ice-Associated Seals and Polar Bears, 2016 [Data Date Range], https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inport/item/46153. NOAA provides no warranty, nor accepts any liability occurring from any incomplete, incorrect, or misleading data, or from any incorrect, incomplete, or misleading use of the data. It is the responsibility of the user to determine whether or not the data is suitable for the intended purpose. otherRestrictions Access Constraints: The data set is in the process of being archived with the NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information. Once the archival process is complete and verified, the data set will be publicly available. otherRestrictions Use Constraints: User must read and fully comprehend the metadata prior to use. Applications or inferences derived from the data should be carefully considered for accuracy. While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. Acknowledge NOAA/NMFS/AFSC or the specified citation as the source from which these data were obtained in any publications and/or other representations of these data. Communication and collaboration with dataset authors is strongly encouraged. otherRestrictions Distribution Liability: While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty. unclassified NOAA Data Management Plan (DMP) NOAA/NMFS/EDM 46153 https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/inportserve/waf/noaa/nmfs/afsc/dmp/pdf/46153.pdf WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link NOAA Data Management Plan (DMP) NOAA Data Management Plan for this record on InPort. information crossReference 392.5 75 eng; US biota environment -169 -155 65 74.5 | Currentness: Ground Condition 2016-04-01 2016-05-31 false eng false Data File processed_hotspotid.csv 2024-04-03 publication CSV - Comma Separated Values (Text) Alaska Fisheries Science Center (206) 526-4000 (206) 526-4004 7600 Sand Point Way N.E., Building 4 Seattle WA 98115 USA afsc.webmaster@noaa.gov https://www.fisheries.noaa.gov/about/alaska-fisheries-science-center WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link Alaska Fisheries Science Center Website AKFSC Home Page information 0700-1700 Pacific Time distributor https://lilablobssc.blob.core.windows.net/arcticseals/TrainingAnimals_WithSightings.csv WWW:LINK-1.0-http--link https://lilablobssc.blob.core.windows.net/arcticseals/TrainingAnimals_WithSightings.csv Processed data used in analysis available for download in child directory. The imagery is hosted at the following url: http://lila.science/datasets/arcticseals download dataset Detection Limit Detection rates were determined by manually reviewing 10,552 color images for the presence of seals and polar bears. All color images have paired thermal images of the same footprint. Image pairs containing manually detected animals from this sample of color images served as a test set for the automated thermal processing software. The paired thermal images were processed using Skeyes software and the portion of resighted individuals determined the detection rate. Eighteen of 23 bear trials were detected by Skeyes, indicating a detection rate of 78%. Seal detection was higher at 91% with 161 of the 176 manual detections identified by Skeyes. Additionally, seal detection consistency across the thermal ground swath was confirmed using DISTANCE analysis of hot spots from survey center-line. Hot spots that may be seals were detected in thermal image files using custom software (Skeyes 2016 R73, installers 49 and 79) which identifies and catalogs hot spots based on an outlier algorithm and additional criteria regarding the peak of temperature data across a hot spot (amplitude, slope, and second derivative) and the area of a hot spot. These were then manually reviewed and classified using the paired color imagery. otherRestrictions otherRestrictions Access Constraints: no metadata access constraints | Use Constraints: Metadata are subject to revision at any time and information within the metadata record should not be cited without author consent. While every effort has been made to ensure that these data are accurate and reliable within the limits of the current state of the art, NOAA cannot assume liability for any damages caused by any errors or omissions in the data, nor as a result of the failure of the data to function on a particular system. NOAA makes no warranty, expressed or implied, nor does the fact of distribution constitute such a warranty.