Frequently Asked Questions
General
Who can submit data to PARS?
Anyone who has collected PAM detection data of marine mammals and other species in accordance with standard scientific protocols is encouraged to submit their data to PARS.
PARS welcomes data submissions from a wide range of contributors, including but not limited to:
- State, federal, tribal, and international government agencies
- Academic researchers
- Non-governmental organizations
- Private industry
If you are unsure, please contact us for assistance.
Where is PARS data stored?
The PARS database is stored within a secure cloud environment owned and maintained by NOAA Fisheries. Only authorized personnel within NOAA Fisheries, primarily from the Passive Acoustics Branch of the Northeast Fisheries Science Center, have direct access to the database for data management and quality control purposes.
Who can access PARS data?
All data in PARS is also made accessible for exploration and visualization through the Passive Acoustic Cetacean Map (PACM). Through PACM, users can explore and visualize the data through an interactive map, but cannot directly download any of the data.
Public users can request a copy of any data from PARS through the North Atlantic Right Whale Consortium (NARWC) Data Request Process. Each data request must include a justification for the request, which is then reviewed by the NARWC for approval. If any PARS data are included in an approved data request, the original submitters of that data will be notified via email after the request has been fulfilled.
Lastly, NOAA scientists can also be granted access to the PARS database for research and management purposes. In the event PARS data are used in any publication, report, or other product generated by NOAA scientists, the data contributors will be properly acknowledged and cited for their contributions. If you are a NOAA scientist interested in accessing PARS data for research, please contact us for more information.
How will my data be attributed and cited?
Each submission to PARS may have its own citation by providing a preferred citation in the PARS Submission Form. If the same preferred citation is provided for multiple submissions by the same organization, those submissions will share the same citation.
If no preferred citation is provided, PARS will generate a default citation for the organization. Only one default citation will be provided per organization, rather than a separate default citation for each submission. The default citation follows this format:
<organization> (<current year>). Passive acoustic detection data submitted to the Passive Acoustic Reporting System. https://passiveacoustics.fisheries.noaa.gov/pars
For example:
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution (WHOI) (2026). Passive acoustic detection data submitted to the Passive Acoustic Reporting System. https://passiveacoustics.fisheries.noaa.gov/pars
In addition to the preferred citation for the submission, one or more citations can also be provided for individual analyses in the detectiondata.csv template (see the analysis_citations field). These analysis citations can be used to provide more specific citations for individual analyses within a submission. If no analysis citations are provided, only the preferred citation for the entire submission will be included in the citations list.
A list of citations will be auto-generated on PACM based on the data that is currently visible on the map. Citations will also be included with any data provided through the NARWC data request process, and in any publications, reports, or other products generated by NOAA Fisheries that include data from PARS.
What is the difference between PARS and Makara?
In short, PARS serves as a streamlined interface for contributing detection data to the broader scientific community, while Makara serves as the comprehensive internal database for NOAA Fisheries’ passive acoustics data management.
PARS is a public-facing data submission system for anyone within or outside NOAA Fisheries to contribute PAM detection data for collaborative scientific research, management, and public awareness of marine species. PARS uses simplified three-table templates (metadata, detection data, and GPS data) designed to make the submission process as straightforward as possible for a wide range of contributors.
Makara is a passive acoustics database used internally by NOAA Fisheries to store and manage a wide range of passive acoustics data across different research groups and fishery science centers. Makara includes many more metadata fields and tables than PARS, and is designed to support detailed data management and analysis. Makara is also closely integrated with other data systems, pipelines, and software used within NOAA Fisheries for passive acoustic research. Similar to PARS, detection data in Makara is publicly displayed on PACM and is available upon request through the NARWC request process (both of which are subject to internal data release protocols).
Do I need to submit all three templates?
The metadata.csv and detectiondata.csv templates are always required. The gpsdata template is only required for mobile platform deployments (e.g., towed arrays, gliders).
Metadata Template
How do I handle multiple recording configurations for one deployment?
If a deployment has multiple recording configurations (e.g., different sample rates, channels, or devices), submit one row per unique recording configuration, and modify the deployment_code so that it is unique for each recording. For example, a deployment with code NEFSC_MA-RI_202110_NS01 that has two separate recordings from SoundTrap and FPOD devices could have deployment_codes of NEFSC_MA-RI_202110_NS01_SOUNDTRAP and NEFSC_MA-RI_202110_NS01_FPOD, respectively. However, only submit separate rows for each recording if the recordings were analyzed separately (e.g., one analysis of the SoundTrap recording and a separate analysis of the FPOD recording).
If the recordings were analyzed together (e.g., one analysis based on multi-channel recordings), then only submit one row for the deployment with a single deployment_code (e.g., NEFSC_MA-RI_202110_NS01), and include all relevant recording information in the appropriate fields.
Detection Data Template
What is the difference between analysis fields and detection fields?
Analysis fields (prefixed with analysis_) describe the overall analysis configuration and are repeated for each detection row within that analysis. Detection and localization fields (prefixed with detection_ or localization_) describe individual detection periods within the analysis.
Please double check that the analysis fields are consistent across all rows for a given analysis as even slight variations can lead to the detections be considered as separate analyses and not grouped together in PACM.
How do I report periods with no detections?
If possible, use detection_result_type_code = "NOT_DETECTED" for periods that were analyzed but where the target species was not detected, especially if you are submitted time-binned (e.g., daily or hourly) presence-absence data. This allows for more accurate visualizations of both detections and non-detections in PACM, and can also be useful for analyses that require presence-absence data.
For analyses that only generate positive detections (i.e., presence-only outputs), you are not required to fill the gaps between detections with NOT_DETECTED rows. However, keep in mind that when the data are exported to PACM, all detection data are aggregated to daily presence-absence data, so any gaps between detections and within the analysis start/end timestamps will be treated as NOT_DETECTED in PACM regardless of whether or not you include NOT_DETECTED rows in your submission.
How do I report gaps in the data?
If the recording has gaps that cannot be analyzed, include one or more records with detection_result_type_code = "NOT_AVAILABLE" to indicate the periods that were not analyzed. This allows for more accurate visualizations of the data in PACM, and can also be useful for analyses that require presence-absence data.
GPS Data Template
How is the GPS data used in PACM?
The GPS data are used to show a line of the platform’s movement during the analysis period, which can provide important context for interpreting the detection data. The actual locations of each detection are then overlaid on this line as colored symbols. Therefore, the line is useful for seeing how the platform moved over time during the analysis, and indicates locations where no detections were made (i.e., spaces between detection symbols).
How frequently should GPS positions be recorded?
For PACM, the GPS positions are aggregated to hourly timesteps using the first recording position of each hour. Therefore, the minimum frequency of GPS positions should be hourly.
However, GPS positions can be submitted at any frequency appropriate for the platform’s movement speed and the analysis needs. Typical intervals range from every few minutes to hourly. If possible, please do not submit high frequency (e.g., every second) GPS data as this can lead to unnecessarily large files and slow loading times in PACM without providing additional useful information for interpreting the detection data.
Should the GPS data be trimmed?
The GPS data should be trimmed to match the analysis_start_timestamp and analysis_end_timestamp for the corresponding analysis in the detectiondata.csv template. This ensures that only GPS positions that fall within the analysis period are included in the submission, which is important for accurate visualization and interpretation of the data in PACM.