Scientists to Turn Sharks into Ocean Sensors & Hurrican Detectors

Scientists are turning to an unexpected ally in the fight to better understand hurricanes and changing ocean conditions — sharks. Researchers at the University of Delaware are fitting sharks with tiny CTD tags that measure temperature, salinity and depth as the animals move through the ocean. When the sharks return to the surface, the devices transmit their collected data to satellites, transforming their natural movements into valuable ocean observations. The research will initially focus on the North Atlantic, where scientists hope highly migratory sharks can reach deep and remote parts of the ocean that are difficult and expensive to monitor using conventional methods.