Narwhal Oceanographers
Today is Earth Day 2007. According to the Earth Day Network Web site, the focus of this year’s Earth Day is “A Call for Action on Climate Change”. Climate change is a topic that is in the news a lot lately, but one rarely finds a connection between climate change and dolphins. However, there is one species of cetacean that is on the front lines of this battle against climate change: the narwhal. You might remember from a previous episode of The Dolphin Pod that we discussed a hypothesis that the narwhal’s tusk may function as a kind of barometer – sensitive to changes in the atmosphere. But, this time it’s not the narwhal’s tusk that is helping researchers learn more about climate change, it’s the narwhals themselves. Scientists are using narwhals tagged with satellite transmitters and instruments that sample water temperatures to learn more about remote regions of the Atlantic Ocean. Narwhals have been recruited as oceanographers and climate change specialists.
Today is Earth Day 2007. According to the Earth Day Network Web site, the focus of this year's Earth Day is “A Call for Action on Climate Change”. Climate change is a topic that is in the news a lot lately, but one rarely finds a connection between climate change and dolphins. However, there is one species of cetacean that is on the front lines of this battle against climate change: the narwhal. You might remember from a previous episode of The Dolphin Pod that we discussed a hypothesis that the narwhal's tusk may function as a kind of barometer – sensitive to changes in the atmosphere. But, this time it's not the narwhal's tusk that is helping researchers learn more about climate change, it's the narwhals themselves. Scientists are using narwhals tagged with satellite transmitters and instruments that sample water temperatures to learn more about remote regions of the Atlantic Ocean. Narwhals have been recruited as oceanographers and climate change specialists.
- Transcript :: Read a transcript of this week's episode with web links
- Narwhals Aid Climate Change Study article :: Read an article from Discovery News on narwhal oceanographers