PORT TOWNSEND — A lecture series exploring the connection between technology and marine research kicks off this weekend with a presentation about how drones gather information about orcas.
John Durban will present “Using Unmanned Hexacopters to Measure Orcas in the Wild” in the lecture at 3 p.m. Sunday in the Fort Worden Commons.
Admission will be $10, or $5 for members of the Port Townsend Marine Science Center, which is sponsoring the series “Future of Oceans.”
Durban will tell how camera-equipped flying drones can collect data on the size, growth, body condition and movement patterns of orcas.
Series of five lectures
The lecture will be the first
in a series of five that concludes April 10.
“It’s a great startup to the whole series,” said Janine Boire, executive director of the marine science center.
“The whole point of the series is how we are using new technologies and new methods and science to move the dial in understanding and healing the Salish Sea,” Boire said.
She said Durban’s work takes an innovative approach to capturing data about the health of orcas in the wild.
“It’s very non-invasive. It’s fairly low-cost, so the research dollars can go further,” Boire said.
“So it’s ever more important with all the shrinking budgets.”
Durban, whose primary focus is orcas, has flown more than 300 hexacopter missions.
He works with the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration’s Southwest Fisheries Science Center in La Jolla, Calif.
The process involves the use of a small, unmanned hexacopter remotely controlled from a nearby vessel to collect images from 100 feet above the orcas to assess the health of individuals, according to a news release.
Durban has used the technique to study blue, gray and humpback whales, but this Sunday, he will focus mainly on his research on orcas around the San Juan Islands and in the Johnstone Strait.
To conduct the experiments, Durban has to acquire permits and airspace clearances in both the U.S. and Canada.
Boire said the lecture series’ primary focus is information, but it is also meant to develop new partnerships and collaborations among those interested in preserving the Salish Sea.
The Salish Sea is an area that includes Puget Sound, the Strait of Juan de Fuca and the San Juan Islands as well as British Columbia’s Gulf Islands and the Strait of Georgia.
The second lecture will be Nov. 8. John Vavrinec of the Pacific Northwest National Laboratory’s Marine Sciences Laboratory in Sequim — known as Battelle — will discuss eelgrass restoration to help provide a safe path for young salmon as they move to the Pacific Ocean.
The remaining lectures are:
■ Jan. 20 — “Satellites and Seagliders: Exploring the Ocean from Top to Bottom” by University of Washington professor Peter Rhines.
■ Feb. 14 — “New GIS Technology: Providing Insights for Whale Research” by marine biologist John Calambokidis, co-founder of the Cascadia Research Collective and Evergreen State College professor.
■ April 10 — “Life in Extreme Ocean Environments” by UW professor John Baross.
For more information, go to www.ptmsc.org or call 360-385-5582.
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Jefferson County Editor Charlie Bermant can be reached at 360-385-2335 or cbermant@peninsuladailynews.com.
