Scientists Employ Seals to Study Global Warming

Elephant seals were used to explore the ocean around Antarctica.

Photo: National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration

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While climate scientists have long thought that the Earth's polar regions are especially sensitive to changes, the harsh weather has made it difficult to study. Now, the AP reports that seals are being enlisted in research efforts.

Researchers led by Jean-Benoit Charrassin of the National Museum of Natural History in Paris glued electronic data-collecting equipment to 58 elephant seals that live in the region, which are capable of diving more than 1.5 kilometers. Writing in Tuesday's edition of Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, the scientists report obtaining nine times more data than had been previously available from buoys and ships and 30 times more information than had been known from beneath the winter sea ice.

The seal-mounted instruments record temperature, pressure, salinity and position, and are being used to map out the properties of the area. So far, the scientists have reported that formation of sea ice peaked in April and May.

Human use of animals is of course tens of thousands of years old, from faithful old watch dogs to domesticated livestock and passenger pigeons. The U.S. Navy has long used dolphins for various purposes. As long as researchers are being careful and respectful of their nonhuman assistants, the potential can be vast for going where it's hard for us to tread. A great deal more needs to be learned about climate science.

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