JoAnna Wendel

Ocean

4 animal “scientists” helping us map the ocean

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The ocean is, put lightly, a big place.

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The ocean takes up more than 70 percent of Earth’s surface and contains some of the most remote and hard-to-get-to places on the planet.

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In fact, scientists know more about the surface of the Moon than the bottom of the ocean.

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For years, scientists have tried to improve the tools with which they study the ocean, from its wide-ranging temperatures, to the patterns of deep and shallow currents, to salinity levels.

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But sometimes traditional tools like buoys or remotely powered underwater vehicles just don’t cut it, especially in extreme environments like the poles.

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Instead, scientists figured out a way to let nature do the work — specifically, sea creatures which carry scientific instruments through the ocean’s depths.

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Narwhals sporting monitors to measure ocean temperature, salinity, and depth help scientists map hard-to-reach areas, like the cold and harsh regions around Greenland.

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Elephant seals equipped with temperature and salinity monitors have helped scientists map the Southern Ocean, as well as study how it transports heat.

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Electric rays may one day help scientists map the bottom of the ocean.

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Another ocean-bottom dweller is the stingray, which could also be outfitted with depth sensors to help scientists map the sea floor.

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With the data gathered from these honorary scientists, we can start filling in the massive gaps in knowledge about our vast oceans.

Read more animal stories here.

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