SEALS and yachts are helping oceanographers satisfy their insatiable appetite for data, scientists revealed last week. They hope data from electronic probes attached to the animals and boats will help us understand ocean dynamics.
Researchers studying northern elephant seals have for years been fitting the animals with electronic tags that record the water temperature.
George Boehlert of the Pacific Fisheries Environmental Laboratory in Pacific Grove, California, realised the seals could reveal conditions in remote ocean areas where existing data is sparse. They dive 600 metres down, giving excellent depth coverage. "We are collaborating to take advantage of all this data," says Boehlert.
He and his colleagues are already using seal data to study ocean fronts in the northeastern Pacific. During one three-month period, seal tags have recorded over 22 000 temperature profiles in a region where conventional monitors only provided 52 measurements. The readings could be used to improve ocean modelling and verify satellite data.
Researchers working with the International SeaKeepers Society have also developed sampling devices to attach to luxury yachts. These monitors collect data on everything from temperature to phytoplankton levels. Simpler modules will be fitted to racing yachts during next year's round-the-world Volvo Ocean Race. This should reveal how robust they are with the goal of fitting them to more stable ships in the future.
Author: Mark Schrope, in San Antonio, Texas
New Scientist issue 5 February 2000
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