Arctic Currents: 

A Year in the Life of a Bowhead Whale 

Principal Investigators 

Roget Topp1

Steve Okonnen2

Collaborator 

Heather Foss1

1University of Alaska Museum of the North 

2University of Alaska Fairbanks, Institute of Marine Science 

FINAL REPORT

March 2015 

OCS Study BOEM 2015-039
Contact Information: 

email: CMI@alaska.edu 

phone: 907.474.6782 

fax: 907.474.7204 

Coastal Marine Institute 

School of Fisheries and Ocean Sciences 

University of Alaska Fairbanks 

P. O. Box 757220 

Fairbanks, AK 99775-7220 

This study was funded in part by the U.S. Department of the Interior, Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) through 

Cooperative Agreement M12AC00005 between BOEM, Alaska Outer Continental Shelf Region, and the University of Alaska 

Fairbanks. This report, OCS Study BOEM 2015-039, is available through the Coastal Marine Institute.

The views and conclusions contained in this document are those of the authors and should not be interpreted as representing the 

opinions or policies of the U.S. Government. Mention of trade names or commercial products does not constitute their 

endorsement by the U.S. Government. .
Arctic Currents: A Year in the Life of the Bowhead Whale

A film production by the University of Alaska Museum of the North 

Project Overview

This project succeeded in the creation of a 25 minute 3D computer animated film, which tells the 

story of bowhead whale annual migration and their zooplankton prey. The purpose of the film is

to build on the whale’s story to demonstrate ecological connectivity and encourage public 

understanding of the marine ecosystem. Specific topics covered include: whale taxonomy, 

physiology, diet, behaviors, movement through subarctic and arctic waters, whale tagging and 

aerial observation programs, and collaboration with Inupiat whalers. Principle production and 

post-production services were carried out by the University of Alaska Museum of the North 

(UAMN) staff and University of Alaska Fairbanks (UAF) student employees. The visual 

elements of the film are centered on 3D photorealistic animations of whales, copepods, and krill 

in arctic waters; hemispheric-level interpretation of bowhead annual movement using satellite 

imagery; and orthogonal graphic imagery interpreting science dive data.

Project Components

Film Script

The film draws its title and basic narrative from a 2013 calendar and teaching tool created by 

UAF oceanographer, Dr. Steve Okkonen, and colleagues. Early versions of the film narrative 

were reviewed by project scientists before being forwarded for visual design development. The 

draft then moved to a shooting-script format broken down by scene and driven by the visual 

story of the film. Two additional script reviews were completed by scientists and whaling 

captains as it moved to finalization in 2014. 

Representation of Human Characters 

Shots in the film involving humans were rendered 

as animated paintings and then further graded and 

treated with both an artificial depth of field and a 

water effect to abstract the representation. This 

artistic choice enhances the film’s focus on 

presenting a whale’s perspective, with the added 

benefit of reducing costs. 

Data Imaging and Graphic 

Hemispheric scale imaging of whale and krill position data (tagged and simulated) were 

Example frame showing human animation.

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completed with final images ready for grading as the film was cut together. Pre-processed 

chlorophyll imagery was composited with the earth-view renders. Cladogram and mammalian 

age charts were generated as line-drawings of more than a dozen animals. Creative graphic 

illustrations of whale caloric intake included a clip using five gallon buckets and another 

featuring chocolate kisses swimming as a krill swarm. This last particular shot appears to be the 

most enjoyed by viewers. Laser scans of the museum’s bowhead whale specimens were turned 

into a 3D model used to illustrate whale characteristics in the film. 

Satellite imagery required for the film was available 

as predominantly MODIS imagery from the AQUA 

and TERRA satellites, with additional imagery from 

Landsat and bathymetry data converted to geoTIF. 

Data used included 

dive information from 

short duration tags, 

and seasonal maps and 

latitude/longitude data from bowhead whales tagged in 2011 and 

2012. 

Representation of Whales 

Whale shots were the most expensive components 

of the film due to: (1) Difficulty of simulation, 

setup and rendering of ice and water, from both 

underwater and aerial perspectives, and (2) Effort 

involved in securing multiple, comprehensive 

reviews of whale animations. Whale images were 

reviewed by biologists and Inupiat whale experts 

from the villages of Barrow, Nome, Savoonga, and 

Gambell.

As in all films of this nature, an extensive 

catalogue of initial shots was required to ensure 

enough would be available to fit the script and 

film design, including shots that could be adapted 

for multiple contexts and camera angles. Shots 

with whale-water intersection largely fell under 

the classification of fluid simulations. These were 

the most highly technical to produce. For every 

shot that made it into the final film, there was another culled due poor quality. 

Whale tag schematic.

Example frame showing whale animation.

Example frame showing whale from below.

 Example frame showing satellite data.

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Representation of Krill and Copepod

Krill, both as hero objects and in flocks, were animated and 

rendered for the film. In some shots, the animals are 

instanced to over 100,000 individuals. Krill appearances and 

textures were reviewed by partnering scientists. Copepods 

were modeled and rigged from scratch by the museum, and 

animations were reviewed by partner researchers to ensure 

models appropriately represented an arctic species. 

Fluid Simulations 

Fluid simulations were the most 

technically difficult part of the film 

and presented the largest number of 

issues with software, re-simulating,

and memory management. A single 

15 second fluid simulation shot 

might require over 500GB of harddrive space for the particle field data, 

and 16-32GB of RAM during 

processing and rendering. A 

significant amount of time was spent 

honing the process on the initial fluid 

simulations. 

Languages and Sound 

Following two rounds of temporary (scratch) recordings of the narrative in English, a Gambell 

resident recorded the final track in English and St. Lawrence Island Yupik. Barrow residents 

translated the film into Inupiaq and provided a second English audio track for use in the final 

sound mix. 

Early in production, it became apparent that capturing 

live whale recordings was cost prohibitive, so the film 

contains no in situ sound recordings except for 

hydrophone recordings. Music for the film was 

produced by UAMN. 

Text/Annotations 

The annotation of the film was originally conceived as an informal, non-font based style that

Making hydrophone recordings.

Example frame of copepod animation.

Sample frame during fluid animation of whale breaking 

the water surface in transit.

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could also be animated. While animated text was not achieved (to quell excess motion in the 

frame), we did retain hand-written text in the final film product. 

Production Timeline 

Minor changes to the timeline took place throughout the production. Narrative writing took a 

month longer than expected so the subsequent storyboarding process was shortened. Additional 

time was also needed for the rendering and review of graphic elements, to finalize edits to the 

narration, and to record the translations. 

Film Premiere and Release

The film premiered at the October 2014 Alaska Federation of Natives meeting in Anchorage, 

Alaska, and at the University of Alaska Museum of the North, in Fairbanks, Alaska, in January 

2015. The film is being shown daily in UAMN auditorium and the Alaska SeaLife Center in 

Seward plans to show the film in their gallery. The Inupiaq version of the film was premiered in 

spring 2015 for Kaktovik residents visiting the UAMN archaeology collection.

The film, in all three languages, was uploaded to YouTube in January 2015 and iTunesU in 

February 2015. After two months online, the film was the 3rd most downloaded video on the 

UAMN YouTube account with over 2,400 downloads across all three languages. It was also 5th

on a YouTube search for bowhead whale videos, despite being new to the Internet and having 

significantly less overall views than videos being online for years. 

A run of 300 DVDs of the film, with all three language tracks was designed and printed in 

February of 2015. The first 200 DVDs were distributed among project partners and villages, 

Marine Advisory Program agents, and contributing researchers and whale experts in Alaska and 

the lower 48 states. 

Outreach

The project team was involved in significant community outreach 

during the making of the film. UAMN Head of Production, Roger 

Topp, traveled to Barrow in April 2013 to speak with scientists 

and hunters during the spring whaling season. Informal 

presentations of animations in progress were made to many 

individuals, resulting in the further sharing of audio and video 

footage of ice and whales by both the scientists and whalers. 

Lead Animator, Hannah Foss, traveled to

Barrow during spring whaling in 2014 and 

during the Bowhead Whaling Commission

meeting that fall. She also visited Nome, 

Visiting Barrow for outreach.

Visiting Barrow during whaling.

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 2015 AMSS Presentation

Savoonga, and Gambell in late fall of 2014. Drafts of the film were presented at each location 

and positively received by the communities. Community input included comments on whale 

movement and activities that improved revisions of the film. Some community ideas could not 

be accommodated in revisions including adding a discussion of whale “footprints,” and script 

changes for deeper exploration of Inupiaq and St. Lawrence Island 

culture. 

Annual project updates were delivered in Fairbanks (2112, 2013) and 

Anchorage (2015). The film was shown in English and St. Lawrence 

Island Yupik at the Alaska Marine Science Symposium in Anchorage in 

2015. 

Ongoing outreach includes a blog chronicling the making of the film. By spring 2015, the blog 

had been viewed nearly 8000 times by over 3,900 unique visitors. The blog’s address 

is http://arcticcurrents.wordpress.com 

Acknowledgements

Funding for this project was provided by the Bureau of Ocean Energy Management, 

through the Coastal Marine Institute, and the Center for Global Change. Pew Charitable 

Trusts funded translation and recording of the film into the St. Lawrence Island Yupik 

language. We would like to thank Gambell resident Chris Koonooka for recording the 

English track and translation and recording of the St. Lawrence Island Yupik track; Jana 

Harcharek and Fannie Akpik of Barrow for translating and recording the film into Inupiaq 

and a counterpoint English track; Whaling captains in Barrow and Gambell, Carin Ashjian, 

Craig George, and Lori Quakenbush for review of the narrative and script; Craig George and 

Inupiat whale experts Harry Brower and Billy Adams for review of whale imagery; Bob 

Campbell and Carin Ashjian for review of krill animations; John Citta for hemispheric scale 

imaging of whale and krill; Kate Stafford for visualization of hydrophone recordings; Rachel 

Potter for chlorophyll imagery; the Idaho Visualization Laboratory for creating the 3D 

bowhead whale model; and Mark Baumgartner and John Citta for bowhead tag data. 

Finally, we thank the residents of Barrow, Nome, Savoonga, and Gambell for their 

participation and their warm reception of this project.

((L to R) Chris Koonooka, Fannie Akpik, Hannah Foss, Roger Topp, Kelsey Gobroski

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The Department of the Interior Mission

As the Nation’s principal conservation agency, the Department of the Interior has 

responsibility for most of our nationally owned public lands and natural resources. This 

includes fostering the sound use of our land and water resources, protecting our fish, 

wildlife and biological diversity; preserving the environmental and cultural values of our 

national parks and historical places; and providing for the enjoyment of life through 

outdoor recreation. The Department assesses our energy and mineral resources and 

works to ensure that their development is in the best interests of all our people by 

encouraging stewardship and citizen participation in their care. The Department also 

has a major responsibility for American Indian reservation communities and for people 

who live in island communities.

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management 

The Bureau of Ocean Energy Management (BOEM) works to manage the exploration 

and development of the nation's offshore resources in a way that appropriately balances 

economic development, energy independence, and environmental protection through oil 

and gas leases, renewable energy development and environmental reviews and studies.