Seals Recruited to Study Ocean Beneath Antarctic Glaciers
Researchers are turning to an unlikely ally in the study of Antarctica's most inaccessible environments: seals. By equipping the animals with specialized sensors, scientists can collect oceanographic data from beneath massive glaciers where no human or conventional instrument can easily reach.
The data gathered by these seal-borne sensors is helping scientists understand how warming ocean water is interacting with the undersides of Antarctic glaciers, a process that plays a key role in ice sheet melting and sea level rise. The approach represents a creative solution to one of the most challenging data gaps in climate science, providing continuous measurements from a region that is critical to understanding the future of Earth's coastlines.
The data gathered by these seal-borne sensors is helping scientists understand how warming ocean water is interacting with the undersides of Antarctic glaciers, a process that plays a key role in ice sheet melting and sea level rise. The approach represents a creative solution to one of the most challenging data gaps in climate science, providing continuous measurements from a region that is critical to understanding the future of Earth's coastlines.