Researchers at the University of Delaware in the USA have begun using marine predators as a “living ocean sensor” to more accurately forecast the intensity and direction of hurricanes.
Sea-news.az reports that within the framework of the scientific project, special devices that continuously measure water depth, temperature, and electrical conductivity are placed on sharks. When the sharks surface, the collected data is immediately transmitted to the research center via a satellite communication network.
Aaron Carlisle, a professor at the University of Delaware’s School of Marine Science and Policy, stated that the heat reserve in the upper layer of the ocean plays a key role in the strengthening of hurricanes. Mako, blue, hammerhead, and juvenile white sharks, which regularly make vertical migrations between the deep and surface layers of the ocean, were selected for observation. The installation of the devices coincides with the animals’ migration period in May. Scientists go out to the open sea 50–65 kilometers from the coast and attach the sensors to the bodies of the predators.
