Photogrammetric video tracks of Antarctic blue whale movements recorded during the 2015 NZ Australia Antarctic Ecosystems Voyage

During the 2015 New Zealand-Australia Antarctic Ecosystem Voyage a digital photogrammetric video tracking system was used to collect precise surfacing locations during encounters with some Antarctic blue whales. The photogrammetric video tracking system is a modern digital video version based on the same operating principle as the that described by Leaper and Gordon 2001, and enables determination of the range and bearing to tracked objects relative to the ship.

Around 15 hours of video tracking were recorded of which 8 hours were classified as good quality of a single animal or in one case a pair of animals that stayed close together. Focal follows were aborted when it was no longer possible to follow the focal animal due to ice or when the presence of other animals meant it was no longer possible to be sure which was the focal animal. This resulted in 7 tracks of longer than 45 minutes with the longest around 2 hours.

Leaper, R. and Gordon, J. 2001. Application of photogrammetric methods for locating and tracking cetacean movements at sea. Journal of Cetacean Research and Management, 3: 131-141.