Tag: whales

New marine protection zone will help endangered penguins and more

Plans are in place to create the world’s 4th-largest fully protected marine reserve at the Tristan da Cunha archipelago. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/new-marine-protection-zone-tristan-da-cunha-penguin…

Antarctica’s blue whales return to South Georgia a century after they were nearly wiped out

The critically-endangered blue whale has returned to the waters near the remote island of South Georgia near Antarctica, almost 100 years after they were nearly made extinct. Source: https://www.livescience.com/antarctica-blue-whales-return-south-georgia.html

Most whales and sea turtles seem to have plastic in their bodies

An analysis of 112 studies from the past ten years suggests that 55 per cent of sea turtles and 80 per cent of whales have microplastics in their bodies Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2259201-most-whales-and-sea-turtles-seem-to-have-plastic-in-their-bodies/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

GPS and Water Don’t Mix. So Scientists Have Found a New Way To Navigate Under the Sea

An anonymous reader quotes a report from ZDNet: [E]ven today’s most sophisticated GPS systems are still unable to map a huge chunk of the Earth: that which is located under oceans, seas, or rivers. The technology, in effect, doesn’t mix well with water, which breaks down the radio waves GPS relies on to function. MIT scientists have been looking at ways…

An Underwater Navigation System Powered by Sound

GPS isn’t waterproof. The navigation system depends on radio waves, which break down rapidly in liquids, including seawater. To track undersea objects like drones or whales, researchers rely on acoustic signaling. But devices that generate and send sound usually require batteries — bulky, short-lived batteries that need regular changing. Could we do without them? From a report: MIT researchers think so….

Suckerfish use fast-flowing water to surf across swimming whales’ skin

Cameras attached to whales to study their behaviour have also revealed that the remora fish that ride along with them prefer to stay behind the whale’s blowhole to limit drag Source: https://www.newscientist.com/article/2258565-suckerfish-use-fast-flowing-water-to-surf-across-swimming-whales-skin/?utm_campaign=RSS%7CNSNS&utm_source=NSNS&utm_medium=RSS&utm_content=home…

Pesticides and industrial pollutants found in snow atop Arctic glaciers

The long journey of these compounds – likely originating in the U.S. and Eurasia – shows the far-reaching impacts of industrial pollution. Source: https://earthsky.org/earth/pesticides-industrial-pollutants-found-atop-arctic-glaciers…