Local weather change is a posh situation, and scientists are continuously working to uncover new proof that helps us perceive the risks we face. However generally, clues to a possible catastrophe can come from probably the most unlikely of locations. Such is the case with a curious seal and a wayward robotic that helped scientists uncover a possible disaster ready to occur.
In 2011, scientists tagged a southern elephant seal on the distant island of Kerguelen within the southern Indian Ocean. The seal, an enormous 11 toes lengthy and weighing almost 1,800 kilos, was fitted with an ocean sensor, a tool that’s barely observed by the seals however has confirmed important to scientific analysis.
Elephant seals like this one swim greater than 1,500 miles south from Kerguelen to Antarctica, the place they usually forage on the seafloor, diving to depths that may exceed a mile under the floor.
As summer season within the Southern Hemisphere peaked, the seal made an ordinary Antarctic journey however went in an uncommon route. In March 2011, he appeared simply offshore from an unlimited oceanfront glacier referred to as Denman, the place elephant seals will not be usually identified to go.
He dived right into a deep trough within the ocean mattress, roughly half a mile under the floor. And that’s when one thing putting occurred: He offered early proof that Denman Glacier may very well be a major menace to international coastlines.
The seal swam by means of unusually heat water, just under the freezing level, however within the Antarctic, that’s heat. Given its salt content material and the intense depths and pressures concerned, such heat water can destroy giant quantities of ice. And it definitely might have been doing so at Denman.
On the time, Denman had obtained little scientific consideration, and researchers didn’t seem to have seen the importance of the seal knowledge. The logistics of learning the glacier straight are additionally difficult, because it lies between two Antarctic analysis bases and is usually locked in by in depth sea ice. However with this new info, scientists are taking a better take a look at Denman and its potential hazard to international coastlines.
Local weather change is a world downside, and all of us have a job in addressing it. This story serves as a reminder of the significance of ongoing analysis and the surprising methods discoveries may be made. By supporting scientific research and taking steps to cut back our carbon footprint, we will work in the direction of a sustainable future for all.
This text by Nicholas Vincent was first printed by OneGreenPlanet on 5 February 2023.
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