The goal of the ESME research program is to create novel modeling and simulation tools to aid in understanding the potential environmental impacts of manmade underwater sound in general and more specifically the impacts of Naval training exercises. The Workbench combines models of sound sources and propagation with biological models developed by basic research scientists at multiple laboratories into a single framework.
The ESME Workbench software has the important distinction of being open and peer-reviewed which allows the research community as well as the Navy to be completely aware of the details behind the simulations. In addition, the user interface for these tools is being carefully designed for ease-of-use for the non-expert without sacrificing the capability to model complex scenarios.
ESME Workbench uses publically available environmental data sources that provide detailed information about the ocean, in the form of four primary databases supplied by the Oceanographic and Atmospheric Master Library (OAML).
The ESME workbench utilizes the Marine Mammal Movement and Behavior (3MB) program for the creation and simulation of animal movement and behavior within the ocean. The program permits a bounded stochastic simulation of individual animals, or animats, through defined behavioral states. Behavioral state transitions and residency in behavioral states can be established with dependencies on other behaviors, time of day, and abiotic ocean characteristics. Aversion to sound exposure is programmable. Species-specific behaviors are derived from the peer-reviewed scientific literature.
