Session 17. Oral Presentation for: Whale detection and microseismic monitoring via DAS using submarine telecommunications cables – a case study from the NWS, Western Australia
Henry A. Debens A * and Denise McCorry AA
Henry Debens has been working as a Geophysicist at Woodside Energy since 2016, primarily in the Technology & Innovation group and lately as part of the Global Wells & Seismic group. He joined Woodside after completing an MSci in geophysics and a PhD in petroleum geophysics at Imperial College London. Henry’s work involves all aspects of the seismic data life cycle, with projects ranging from acquisition through to interpretation, but chiefly concerns the development and application of novel approaches to seismic imaging and inversion. |
Denise McCorry is a Principal Biodiversity Scientist in the Corporate Services Biodiversity & Science team at Woodside Energy, based in Western Australia. Denise obtained her PhD from the University of Hong Kong and has held post-doctoral fellowships from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Zoological Society of London, and the University of British Columbia. Denise has over 20 years of experience in tropical marine ecological studies and marine protected-area planning and management in South East Asia (Hong Kong, Brunei, the Philippines, and Indonesia) and environmental impact assessment for the extractive industries. Her current role at Woodside focusses on the science partnership programs and scientific studies to underpin credible environmental impact assessments across all offshore business-stream activities in Australia. |
Abstract
Presented on Wednesday 22 May: Session 17
A monitoring trial of subsea distributed acoustic sensing (DAS) conducted in the marine waters of Australia is presented. This trial explores the concept of repurposing existing submarine telecommunications cables for remote monitoring of the environment and geophysical phenomena. The data were collected from a pre-existing fibre-optic cable, 50 km in length, that links two offshore hydrocarbon production platforms off the northwest coast of Australia. Initial data analyses confirmed the ability to detect underwater sounds from various sources, including marine animals (such as baleen whales), anthropogenic activities (such as vessels), and natural geophysical phenomena (such as earthquakes). The study underscores the efficacy of DAS for capturing and locating marine mammal vocalisations, specifically highlighting signals from pygmy blue whales – a species granted the highest protection status in Australia – and Omura’s whales, both of which migrate biannually through the offshore waters of Western Australia. These findings indicate the potential of subsea DAS for detecting and tracking marine fauna regionally. Moreover, they suggest its applicability for future monitoring in support of environmental impact assessments and the development of adaptive management strategies to prevent or minimise impacts on migratory whale species from offshore industries.
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Keywords: DAS, DFOS, environmental monitoring, marine fauna, microseismic monitoring, PAM, telecommunications.
Henry Debens has been working as a Geophysicist at Woodside Energy since 2016, primarily in the Technology & Innovation group and lately as part of the Global Wells & Seismic group. He joined Woodside after completing an MSci in geophysics and a PhD in petroleum geophysics at Imperial College London. Henry’s work involves all aspects of the seismic data life cycle, with projects ranging from acquisition through to interpretation, but chiefly concerns the development and application of novel approaches to seismic imaging and inversion. |
Denise McCorry is a Principal Biodiversity Scientist in the Corporate Services Biodiversity & Science team at Woodside Energy, based in Western Australia. Denise obtained her PhD from the University of Hong Kong and has held post-doctoral fellowships from the Chinese University of Hong Kong, the Zoological Society of London, and the University of British Columbia. Denise has over 20 years of experience in tropical marine ecological studies and marine protected-area planning and management in South East Asia (Hong Kong, Brunei, the Philippines, and Indonesia) and environmental impact assessment for the extractive industries. Her current role at Woodside focusses on the science partnership programs and scientific studies to underpin credible environmental impact assessments across all offshore business-stream activities in Australia. |
