Voluntary Dedicated Marine Mammal Observations, Gephysical Survey, Venus Well site, Block 2913B, Orange Basin - TotalEnergies E&P Namibia

Sampling event
Latest version published by TotalEnergies on May 20, 2025 TotalEnergies
Publication date:
20 May 2025
Published by:
TotalEnergies
License:
CC-BY-NC 4.0

Download the latest version of this resource data as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A) or the resource metadata as EML or RTF:

Data as a DwC-A file download 7 records in English (6 KB) - Update frequency: not planned
Metadata as an EML file download in English (10 KB)
Metadata as an RTF file download in English (8 KB)

Description

Visual monitoring was conducted from 01/10/2024 to 19/11/2024 during daylight hours for an overall total visual effort of 120.6 hours in the license Block 2913B (which is adjacent to TEEPNA’s Block 2912), located about 290 km from shore in water depths ranging from approximately 2,600 m to 3,300 m, spanning an area of 8,215 km². The forecastle from which most of the observations were done, located on the bow of the vessel, provided a near 180 degrees view and is 13.5 m above sea level. Observations were made with the naked eye, scanning the surface for any visual cues that could indicate the presence of marine fauna (e.g. splashes, white water during calmer periods, waves going against the prevailing direction, dark shapes and the blow/spouts of large whales). High-definition hand-held binoculars with inbuilt compass and reticulation was used to aid in species identification, group size and individual or group behaviour. Range estimation of the initial sightings distance, closest point of approach and final sightings distances were estimated via a calculation converting the reticule scale readings from the reticule binoculars into horizontal distances. During encounters where individuals approached too close to the vessel to use the reticule readings, a best possible estimation was made by eye. Where possible, photographs were taken using a DSLR camera to aid in species identification and to document the encounter.

Data Records

The data in this sampling event resource has been published as a Darwin Core Archive (DwC-A), which is a standardized format for sharing biodiversity data as a set of one or more data tables. The core data table contains 7 records.

1 extension data tables also exist. An extension record supplies extra information about a core record. The number of records in each extension data table is illustrated below.

Event (core)
7
Occurrence 
13

This IPT archives the data and thus serves as the data repository. The data and resource metadata are available for download in the downloads section. The versions table lists other versions of the resource that have been made publicly available and allows tracking changes made to the resource over time.

Versions

The table below shows only published versions of the resource that are publicly accessible.

Rights

Researchers should respect the following rights statement:

The publisher and rights holder of this work is TotalEnergies. This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution Non Commercial (CC-BY-NC 4.0) License.

GBIF Registration

This resource has been registered with GBIF, and assigned the following GBIF UUID: 8e725f70-655b-4545-8e2b-7acca21ad6af.  TotalEnergies publishes this resource, and is itself registered in GBIF as a data publisher endorsed by GBIF France.

Keywords

Cetaceans; marine mammals; southern Namibia; whales; dolphins; MMO; Observation

Contacts

TotalEnergies E&P Namibia
  • Metadata Provider ●
  • Originator ●
  • Point Of Contact
  • Affiliate
TotalEnergies
NA
Hannah Escoubet
  • Publisher
Steven DICKINSON
  • Point Of Contact
TotalEnergies France
FR

Geographic Coverage

License Block 2913B (which is adjacent to TEEPNA’s Block 2912) is located about 290 km from shore in water depths ranging from approximately 2,600 m to 3,300 m, spanning an area of 8,215 km2, while the Venus Main Core site is situated at 3,000 m water depth.

Bounding Coordinates South West [-29.405, 11.516], North East [-23.323, 14.07]

Taxonomic Coverage

Marine fauna sightings comprise 11 cetaceans, one seal and one turtle observation, observed either during transit or in the survey area.

Kingdom Animalia
Phylum Chordata
Class Mammalia, Reptilla
Order Testudines, Cetacea, Carnivora
Family Otariidae, Delphinidae, Balaenopteridae, Cheloniidae

Temporal Coverage

Start Date / End Date 2024-10-01 / 2024-11-19

Additional Metadata

Alternative Identifiers 8e725f70-655b-4545-8e2b-7acca21ad6af
https://ipt.gbif.fr/resource?r=voluntary-dedicated-mmo-observations-block-2913b-namibia