They attached sensors to seals to explore conditions in Antarctica

The authors said the complex, ship-based studies were replaced by a half-pound instrument associated with fin marine mammals, and they conducted their analyzes between March and September 2017.

Technology developed in recent years that records conductivity, temperature, and depth (CTD) is essential to characterize ocean water throughout the entire column and allows its source estimation, and is further expanded in the published text.

They explained that after comparing the data transmitted from the fitted seals, we found that warm, low-salinity water appeared underground during the fall, and its depth increased as the season progressed.

By adding other models to them, they added, we show that mostly steady easterly winds during autumn cause warm water to flow from the shelf surface, in addition to the possibility of additional dams toward the mainland.

Indeed, they confirmed that simultaneous dive data on seals indicated that warm, low-salinity waters had positive effects on foraging behavior.

In their general conclusions, the researchers note that a wind-driven physical process can improve prey availability in the Antarctic coastal marine ecosystem.

Nobu Kokubun, associate professor at the National Polar Research Institute in Japan and lead author of the paper, explained that previous investigations have used tools associated with southern elephant seals and seals to show physical processes in the area.

Antarctica stands out as one of the most biologically productive regions of the world’s oceans due to the large amount of nutrients generated by interactions between sea, sea ice and ice shelf.

msm / znc