Abstract
Improved signal processing techniques are described for estimating the interpulse interval (IPI) associated with the multiple pulses in a sperm whale click. These pulses are believed to result from repeated reflections of the original pulse within the spermaceti organ in the whale’s head. Previous estimates of the IPI have been based on time series correlation or on computation of the cepstrum of the received waveform [J. Goold, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 100, 3431–3441 (1997)]. The present work describes real-time computation and display of the spectrogram and cepstrogram (time-cepstral distribution) [G. Pavan, Proc. IOA 19(9) (1997)] and examines the benefits of the simultaneous display of this information for field analysis and for browsing long recordings to identify sperm whale clicks. In addition, a detailed model of the spectral modulation associated with the multiple pulses is developed and leads to improved estimation of the IPI. Examples are presented that indicate the method may be more robust with respect to additive noise and the effects of surface reflection than the cepstrum-based approaches. [Work of the first author supported by ONR. Work of the second author supported by the University of Pavia, Italy, the Italian Ministry of the Environment, and by the Italian Navy.]
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