Scientists turn to sharks to improve hurricane predictions
CTD tags on sharks could help scientists measure ocean heat and salinity, giving forecasters better data on storm strength, researchers said.
- University of Delaware researchers are testing whether sharks can serve as mobile ocean-data observers, deploying electronic sensors to monitor conditions informing hurricane forecasts along the U.S. East Coast.
- While oceanographers have long used animal-borne sensors on elephant seals in polar regions, Aaron Carlisle, principal investigator at the School of Marine Science and Policy, noted sharks are abundant and widely distributed, making them ideal research candidates.
- Tags attached to dorsal fins transmit data via satellite whenever sharks surface. Carlisle describes the tagging process as operating "like a pit crew," ensuring the procedure takes less than five minutes to minimize animal stress.
- By measuring the ocean's mixed layer heat content, sensors provide critical data on storm intensity drivers. This information could offer communities from North Carolina to Massachusetts more reliable hurricane warnings, increasing coastal resilience.
- The project also helps reframe public perception of sharks beyond "absurdly dramatic" pop culture portrayals. Carlisle noted that demonstrating how these animals can assist human safety creates a "win-win situation" for conservation and public preparedness.
46 Articles
46 Articles
Sharks Equipped With Sensors Could Help Predict Hurricane Intensity
Image for representation purposes only Scientists in the United States are testing whether sharks can help improve hurricane forecasts by carrying sensors that collect information about ocean conditions. Researchers at the University of Delaware are tagging sharks with small devices that measure temperature, depth and electrical conductivity, which is closely linked to salinity. The data could help scientists better understand conditions beneath…
Sharks Fitted with Sensors to Help Hurricane Predictions
From the killer shark of "Jaws" to the tornado-tossed predators of the "Sharknado" movies, films long have portrayed sharks as objects of summer fear. But when a shark cuts through the waters off the U.S. East Coast, it now may be doing more than hunting.
US scientists are tagging sharks with ocean sensors; every time they surface, data is sent by satellite to help forecast how strongly hurricanes may intensify
Sharks are being used as mobile ocean sensors by University of Delaware researchers in a new study that could help improve hurricane forecasts. Electronic tags attached to sharks collect water temperature, salinity and depth data as the animals move through the Atlantic. Scientists hope the information will improve understanding of ocean conditions that influence hurricane intensity.
Sharks are being used by American researchers in an experiment that can help predict the intensity of hurricanes before they reach the east coast of the United States. Scientists at Delaware University are installing electronic sensors on animals to collect information about the temperature and salinity of the Atlantic Ocean, data that are difficult and expensive to obtain by other methods.
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