Elephant Seal Scientists?
Jeff DeVito Honors Biology 2/26/13
Jeff DeVito Honors Biology 2/26/13
Elephant Seal
Scientists?
I found the article “Seals
take scientists to Antarctic's Ocean Floor” by Paulaine Askin
on NBCnews.com. In this article I read about how scientists placed
sensor monitors on the heads of elephant seals and then the seals
traveled to great depths in the Antarctic's waters that are
inaccessible by humans even with the top technology. They have shown
scientists “bottom water”. This happened very recently and the
article was updated just this morning. Scientists are doing this so
they can view the deepest depths of the Antarctic ocean and not risk
lives of scientists in submarines that could be trapped under the
ice. A scientist named Guy Williams"This is a particular form of
Antarctic water called Antarctic bottom water production, one of the
engines that drives ocean circulation, what we've done is found
another piston in that engine." Basically from observing the
Antarctic ocean through the sensor on the Seals head, scientists have
figured out that makes ocean water circulate.
This made me think of
biology class because we are always talking about research about
animals but this is the opposite, this is research of the environment
by using animals. I thought this article was very interesting because
of how unique it was. I honestly believe it was a brilliant idea to
do this. It is almost too simple to have worked as well as it did.
"The seals went to an area of the coastline that no ship was
ever going to get to," Other than going under water and helping
them make observations about how ocean waters circulate, they went to
places where ships would not make it past the ice and they learned
about the land of Antarctica. So, because of a great idea of a
scientist and a few seals, humans can now study an entire frontier
more in depth.
click here
to check out the link!
I thought this was very interesting and agree with you Jeff this is such a great innovation in sea discovery. It is great that they have all this new information about something we could have not been able to discover. I think this shows us that the future will bring great discoveries like the one you mention about the water circulation. As long as animals are not harmed while making these discoveries I think it could be the beginning of many more great discoveries that we have been trying to figure out for years.
ReplyDeleteThis sounds like a very interesting topic. One thing that surprised me was that this was a recently discovered way of mapping the ocean. For thousands of year humans have used animals to help them, sometimes on a daily basis. One example are sled dogs, Eskimos have used sled dogs for transportation for thousands of years. It seems when it comes to the Artic humans need to rely on animals for some things. What also amazes me is that such a simple solution has the potential to be better than pieces of equipment costing hundreds of thousands of dollars. You mention that the seals can go where ships cannot but the seals also have other advantages. Normally scientist would lower a camera off a ship and look around then bring it up move to a new location and begin again. However seals can move at its normal speed even when at extreme depths. I imagine this would make it faster and easier to collect data.
ReplyDeleteI think you chose a very interesting article Jeff. I agree with you that this is a brilliant idea and I wonder why we haven't thought of this sooner. It is a great idea because we do not have to risk scientist’s lives like you said. We use the seals in their natural habitat to help us discover new information which is fantastic. It seems like a win-win situation because we are able to collect data without harming anyone or anything.
ReplyDeleteThis article that you've selected is a very intriguing, Jeff. What the article is describing is exactly what we need to be paying more attention to. Using seals in their natural habitat is a great way to discover new information without putting scientist's lives in jeopardy. With this, scientists can learn more about seals while staying safe at the same time, making this a great outcome.
ReplyDelete