Hill equipment investigates whale geometry

  • Published
  • By Beth Young
  • Ogden Air Logistics Center Public Affairs
HILL AIR FORCE BASE, Utah (AFPN) --  Although located hundreds of miles from the nearest ocean, technology here may help unlock the mysteries of how whales use and are affected by sound.

Experts here recently used computed tomography equipment, normally used to scan Minuteman missile parts to detect cracks, voids or separations, for something much different -- to scan a baby fin whale's head.

The frozen 500-pound whale head arrived from Sea World in San Diego, accompanied by Dr. Ted Cranford, San Diego State University Department of Biology adjunct professor of research, and Megan McKenna, research assistant and graduate student.

"Currently, I'm working on a project to investigate the impact of high-intensity sound in large whales with a group of colleagues from Scripps Institution of Oceanography," Dr. Cranford said.

He said the scan would be impossible to perform in a medical CT scan machine because of the animal's massive size -- a full grown fin whale is the length of two school buses end to end.

"I feel very fortunate because I didn't realize these resources were (at Hill) and I only found out by doing a lot of phone calling," Dr. Cranford said.

The scan will create a three-dimensional model of the whale's head. To accomplish this monumental task, the whale's head, which is packaged in about 6 feet of cardboard tubing normally used to form freeway columns, is loaded onto the machine, said Sal Juarez, industrial services division missile X-ray and computed tomography chief.

As the machine scans the tube, it will also move it, creating about 600 horizontal, computer image slices of the head, Mr. Juarez said. The scans, which were done over the course of two days, will be used to create a 3-D model.

The fact that Hill is able to share its technology with outside agencies is mandated by Congress. This policy provides unique technology to those who would otherwise not have had access to it.

"I think we, as part of the Air Force, are committed to sharing unique technologies with the outside world," Mr. Juarez said. "That's been Hill's policy for the last four or five years and they've invested quite a bit to be able to do that. In this particular case, it's great that Hill can do something environmentally beneficial."

Because this is the first scan ever of a fin whale -- the second largest species of whale on Earth -- Dr. Cranford said the information will be incredibly beneficial. This scan alone will greatly increase what is known about the anatomy of large whales.

"It is important to make the point that we are getting information about the geometry of the whale -- the shapes of the whale,” Dr. Cranford said. “If we wanted to know what was in there we would just cut (the whale) open. However, as soon as you begin to cut things open then you lose the geometry -- things begin to slump and get out of position. We don't have any doubt that what we are going to end up with is going to be great, because there aren't any studies of the geometry of (this type of whale); everything (from the scan) is brand new."

The information gathered through the CT scan done here, and others, will be used in many capacities from gaining a better understanding of whales anatomy to how to build better man-made sonar.

"This knowledge would have obvious value in assessing potential Navy noise effects on these animals, but the primary goal was to develop sufficient understanding of their sound processing anatomy to enable us to answer any manner of question having to do with the natural marvel that is marine mammal hearing," Dr. Gisiner said.

"With the emergence of large volume CT scanning capabilities, such as at Hill, another possibility opens up," Dr. Gisiner said. "It would be fantastic to produce an entire library of anatomical atlases for the diverse group of animals we call marine mammals.

"The potential benefits to science, to marine conservation, and to national technical capability, are so broad in scope that any attempt to list them would probably leave out some of the most exciting discoveries that will eventually emerge," he said.

This was not only an exciting experience for those responsible for the study, but also for Hill team members.

"This was definitely a learning experience,” Mr. Juarez said. “It was great to be a part of it.”

Although Dr. Cranford and Miss McKenna have taken the whale head and a wealth of information back to California, it does not mean the relationship with Hill is over.

"Everyone here welcomed us with open arms and it's been fantastic," Dr. Cranford said. "The equipment is better than I thought it was going to be and the people are nicer and more interested than I could expect them to be.

"I hope they will allow us to come back,” he said. “We already have three other whale specimens we want to do." (Courtesy of Air Force Materiel Command News Service)